The harm and hurt caused by illegal 'temp license tags'

It’s an issue that rarely if ever crosses the minds of most drivers in New York City or elsewhere: the fraudulent sale of temporary license plate tags — “temp tags” — and the subsequent illegal use of them in hit-and-run accidents, shootings and robberies.

In a detailed investigation published recently by StreetsBlog USA, a daily news site founded in 2006 that addresses solutions “to end car dependence in the United States,” readers will find the first part of a series called “Ghost Tags,” which claims to offer a look “inside New York City’s black market for temporary license plates.”

The reporting ties in the fraudulent sale of temporary plates by used car dealers in New Jersey and other states with drivers who skirt accountability in a number of violations and, in some cases, deaths. One such finding examines a hit-and-run in Queens, New York last year, in which a five-year-old boy died when he was struck by a driver with a suspended license and a counterfeit New Jersey temp tag.  “Temps from New Jersey are among the most common on the streets of New York City, as are tags from Georgia and Texas,” the report says.