Every time a driver covers their license plate to skip a toll, it takes away needed dollars from our roads. In New Jersey, that’s grown into an enormous tab.
The New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway lost $90 million to toll evaders last year alone. The Atlantic City Expressway lost another $3.2 million in unpaid tolls—and $48 million in uncollected administrative fees.
Now, a New Jersey congressman is pushing for a federal fix.
What the Bill Does
U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez introduced the Toll Evasion Prevention and Plate Visibility Act in March, targeting the products and practices that make toll evasion possible in the first place.
The bill takes aim at the sale of license plate covers and other devices designed to obscure plates, making it difficult for toll cameras to read. Currently, these products are readily available online—some marketed with language promising to shield plates from detection by cameras and scanners. Other more sophisticated versions include mechanisms that lower a screen over the plate at the touch of a button, according to a report by NJ.com.
A federal ban would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement authority over sellers of these products, making it significantly harder for them to continue operating. The legislation also targets counterfeit and fraudulent plates, often used to evade tolls.
What Else Is in the Bill
Beyond the ban, the bill directs the Federal Highway Administration to work with states, law enforcement, and tolling authorities to improve license plate readability and make plates harder to counterfeit.
It also establishes a $10 million grant program to help states upgrade technology systems for identifying repeat toll evaders and fund law enforcement training on plate obstruction violations.
Why It Matters for NJ Drivers
New Jersey already has state laws against plate covers and fraudulent tags. The state tightened those rules in 2024 with harsher fines for drivers caught using ghost tags. But state-level enforcement can only go so far when products are sold freely across state lines online.
A federal ban would change that. By going after the sellers directly and giving the FTC tools for enforcement, the bill targets the supply side of the problem rather than just the drivers caught using these devices.
The bill is still in early stages and has not passed committee. For a state that’s losing tens of millions of dollars a year to toll evasion, the pressure for action is only growing.