(AP) -- New York has a new way of fighting back against motorists who evade tolls.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that effective Wednesday, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles has the authority to suspend the vehicle registration of any motorist who fails to pay five tolls within a period of 18 months.

The state says it found nearly 35,000 cases of toll evaders racking up five or more unpaid toll violations within 18 months -- depriving the state of more than $16 million a year.

Cuomo says people who cheat the system unfairly burden law-abiding New Yorkers who pay their fair share.

The DMV proposed the plan last fall, but it had to go through the state's regulatory approval process.