OCEAN CITY, MD-Ocean City establishes a Special Event Zone three times each year.
The Special Event Zone coincides with Cruisin Ocean City, Endless Summer Cruisin and the unsanctioned H2Oi car event.
The actual event that holds the name H2Oi was moved from Ocean City and is held in Atlantic City, NJ, but many still flock to Ocean City anyway for the unsanctioned event.
The SEZ is typically put in place when it is expected to have a high volume of motor vehicles and pedestrians as spectators for the motor vehicles events. This includes reductions to established speed limits in the zone and increased fines for violations.
Senate Bill 878 was recently introduced by Senator Mary Beth Carozza and it calls for more penalties, especially in the wake of the unsanctioned H2Oi event that caused many problems last year for locals and police officers.
A spokesperson for Senator Carozza says if passed, and for the first time, a person convicted of a violation of exhibition driving is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 60 days or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.
The bill defines exhibition driving as "The operation of a vehicle in a manner that produces abrupt acceleration or deceleration, skidding, swerving, raucous engine noise, gear grinding, or wheels losing contact with the ground."
House Bill 1493 calls for similar measures and was cross filed with Senate Bill 878. Both bills have bipartisan cosponsors and both are still in committee.