Fifty-seven Hawke's Bay motorists have been caught fraudulently registering their vehicles as "ambulances".
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) yesterday released the figures to Hawke's Bay Today and said many owners of the bogus ambulances had doctored registrations to save hundreds of dollars on their annual registration fee.
A petrol-powered car's registration is $287, compared with only $60 for a non-commercial ambulance.
On May 1, a new offence was introduced to specifically target these offenders, who are liable for increased fines - $1000 for individuals and $5000 for businesses.
Hastings Sergeant Clint Adamson said the ambulance cases had yet to come across his desk, "but we did deal with a spate of similar cases a while ago where people had registered their cars as agricultural vehicles".
Depending on specifications, agricultural vehicles can be registered for as little as $35 annually.
Any of the ambulance cases that came his way would be "put through the court", Mr Adamson said.
The NZTA was now also empowered to cancel the registration of a vehicle where it was satisfied that it had not been licensed in accordance with regulations.
St John New Zealand Central Districts operations manager, Stephen Smith, said Hawke's Bay had 16 commercial ambulances, which each cost $115 to register.
CHARGES
Private petrol-powered car: $287
Fire truck: $59-$117 (size-dependent ).
St John Ambulance: $115
Non-commercial ambulance: $60
Diplomatic car: $79
Taxi (car): $345
Hawke's Bay motorists scamming fees system
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