Stop scofflaw drivers to lower insurance rates

In her State of the State address, Governor Hochul called for reducing New York’s high auto insurance premiums. One way to do this would be to pass legislation and enforce the law targeting delinquent drivers, who are disproportionately responsible for costly accidents, and vehicle owners who illegally fail to pay their insurance in New York – or at all.

A new campaign led by a special interest group aims to reduce insurance rates by increasing the burden on accident victims: reducing liability requirements, limiting damages related to pain and suffering, and ending “no-fault” insurance, which allows accident victims to immediately cover their expenses without lengthy litigation. There is a better solution.

Based on New York City Department of Transportation reports and public data, we know that speed is the leading contributing factor to traffic deaths. Vehicles with 16 or more speed camera violations (including 14,707 in 2025) are at twice the risk of a serious accident, with the 2,830 vehicles with 30 or more violations representing 50 times the risk. Vehicles with multiple red light camera violations pose an even greater risk. Those with 3.3 red light violations are at five times greater risk, with the risk level increasing rapidly with the number of violations.

Cameras fulfill an essential function, especially since police control is very difficult on city streets. For every ticket issued by the New York Police Department, the cameras issue 65.

Yet despite the increased crash risk for drivers of repeat violators, state law surprisingly prohibits insurers from using camera violations to charge higher insurance rates. Albany further protects violators by limiting the quantity and location of cameras. These problems need to be resolved.

Additionally, NYPD enforcement measures should be integrated with automated measures to target vehicles with high numbers of camera violations. Yet, currently, NYPD officers and traffic enforcement officers (“meter officers”) do not monitor or target vehicles with repeated camera violations or unpaid fines. Technology, including license plate readers and smart ticketing devices integrated into the Department of Finance’s database, could fill this gap.

Uninsured drivers, about 8.6 percent of New York motorists, also increase economic risk without paying at all. Studies show they are much more likely to crash. They should be a top priority for the NYPD. Yet in the first three quarters of 2025, the New York Police Department issued only 2,849 tickets for operating without insurance. The NYPD should develop automatic capabilities to identify uninsured vehicles, whether moving or parked, in order to remove them from the road.

More than 3 million speeding incidents observed by DOT cameras failed to be ticketed due to fake, obstructed or missing plates in 2023. Yet Hochul and Mayor Adams’ much-vaunted Ghost Plate Task Force towed only 5,343 vehicles from March 2024 to August 2025 for suspended registrations and fraudulent, obstructed or altered plates.

This means that for every vehicle towed, there were more than 800 speeding incidents without a ticket. And city council investigators recently discovered that nearly 20 percent of out-of-state license plates did not match the vehicle’s license plates. It is likely that these vehicles are more prone to accidents and are not insured. Efforts to impound vehicles with fake plates must be significantly increased and penalties must be tougher.

Many city residents defraud insurance companies by ignoring state law that requires they register their vehicle where it is parked. A recent study found that 21,000 vehicles registered outside the tri-state area or Pennsylvania were subject to at least one violation in the city during each quarter in 2025, suggesting they are parked here. This is probably the tip of the iceberg of vehicles that are permanently present but do not pay their share. Here too, stricter enforcement and stricter sanctions are needed.

Finally, Mayor Mamdani promised to fight corruption. In a recent lawsuit that the city settled for $175,000, a Staten Island officer claimed he was demoted for summoning drivers with one of 300,000 “courtesy cards” issued by police unions.

The NYPD is responsible for saving lives by enforcing traffic laws. That their unions have cards exempting friends and family of members from law enforcement is a scandal. While no data is public, it’s not hard to imagine that drivers immune to NYPD traffic stops are putting New Yorkers at risk and raising insurance rates for all drivers. The NYPD should end the practice of exempting courtesy card holders from traffic stops.

Affordability and safe streets are two sides of the same coin: reducing accidents would not only save lives, but also reduce car insurance premiums. Legislative changes and targeted enforcement focused on repeat offenders could save lives while making insurance more affordable for law-abiding drivers.

Robbins is the owner of Upper West Strategies, a small business based in New York that runs internship programs.