The Port Authority Police Department was watching for toll evaders in the Holland Tunnel last Friday when officers noticed something truly bizarre. Was that white Mercedes hiding its New Jersey license plates with…old socks?
With so many toll plazas transitioning from live booth operators to license plate scanners, toll evasion is increasingly common. Drivers try all kinds of methods, from painting over certain letters or numbers to wrapping their plate in reflective tape in hopes of tricking the automatic license plate readers.
When these drivers successfully dodge the toll, it eventually just makes tolls more expensive for everyone else. So the PAPD monitors all six Hudson River crossings to “ensure fairness for all who travel through them.” And that’s how officers caught one driver pulling the wool over their eyes.
Port Authority Police officers unravel bizarre sock-based plot
It appears the 51-year-old Jersey City man had removed his Mercedes-Benz’s license plate, wedged several black socks behind the plate so they hung in front of the numbers, then screwed the whole stitched-together mess back in place. He wasn’t exactly putting his best foot forward…