OCEAN CITY, Md. -- An unsanctioned car rally that has caused a lot of chaos in recent years, was quiet this year. Because of that, it appears the town of Ocean City and the state of Maryland were successful in their efforts to curb the rally.
According to Maryland State Senator Mary Beth Carozza, one of the biggest steps in those efforts was acquiring legislation back in 2020.
"It did take legislation," said Carozza. "And not only once, but we had to go back again to make sure that we had the right approach to address lowering the speed limits, and also putting the higher fines on the exhibition and reckless driving.
Special event zones, which are a product of that legislation, played possibly the biggest role in deterring rally goers.
Carozza says the legislative route was necessary after realizing this rally was affecting visitors.
"When we realized that we had families that would not even come out of their hotel rooms during these pop up rallies, concerned about their safety, we knew we needed to take action," said Carozza.
The special event zone allows the town to establish a maximum speed limit of 30 miles per hour and levy heavier fines.
The town can also had help from law enforcement agencies outside of the Ocean City Police Department. The Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Department, the Worcester County Sheriff's Department, the Maryland State Police, and the Maryland Transportation Authority all pitched in.
All of those agencies were in full force, making 41 arrests, several of which were traffic violations.
Locals of Ocean City are happy the town took the enforcement of this event seriously and prevented people from coming.
"I was very happy that it did not happen this past weekend," said Mike Parker. It’s always when they’re here it’s so loud and it’s dangerous because they just race up and down the road."
The pop up car rally is a dangerous event, that most are hopeful stays out of Ocean City for good.
