There is a $2 fee for an out-of-state car's driver and $1 for each passenger, and half that for cars with Florida license.

"Most of them to rentals and out-of-state cars," said Mary McVeigh, a traffic agent.

What makes an out-of-state rental car more suspicious than any other vehicle in a city like New York?

Their motorcycle disappears in the heavy traffic of out-of-state cars, which I watch for a long time.

We work for tips, and about 99% of the out-of-state cars, you never make anything out of, so you notice them.

"It is far from suspicious," he wrote, "to see people placing duffle bags into the trunk of an out-of-state car in the early morning."

Was it the out-of-state cars lined up to buy drugs on Friday nights?

"We have seen a tremendous rise in out-of-state cars," Mr. Hopkins said.

Then I played license plate blackjack, southbound versus northbound, out-of-state cars as wild cards.

It has also begun working with the Parking Violations Bureau to get the license plate numbers of out-of-state cars frequently ticketed.