Local law trumps out-of-state law?

[zeitgeist57]

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/09/can-ocean-city-enforce-maryland-vehicle-laws-state-cars-well-theyre-gonna-try/

 

I got halfway through the article and realized OF COURSE this was written by Jack B. Poignant commentary on local police being wet blankets: I understand they are enforcing the laws they swore to uphold, but give it a break - especially for out-of-state drivers - once a year!

 

I've told people at CC&C for the last 6 years that not everyone there likes the same auto trends as I do, but I'm willing to respect the passion. To Jack's point in the article: they may be mostly punk VW stance-kids, but they represent a bulk of the youngest members in our automotive culture...their "survival" helps make sure car shows and a robust aftermarket continues to thrive.

 

I realize that the local enforcement is perfectly legal, but I hope H20 - and any other major auto event - never goes to Ocean City, MD again.

[buelliganx1]

From what I've read these guys just kind of randomly pick places to gather without really getting permission of either the city or the lot owner to have a show. They also tend to raise a ruckus and piss off the locals. Again that's just what I've read but if it's true they would go a long way by simply organizing with the city, getting the permission of the land or lot owner, and doing what they can to make the locals happy.

[buelliganx1]

On a side note, I just happen to be in Baltimore Maryland, we got here last night.... I cannot wait to leave.

[Jewtoys]

Who cares, let them ticket those fools.

 

 

I say bravo

[RyM3rC]

Cops gonna cop, ricers gonna rice.

[Forrest Gump 9]

I don't see the cops bother the bikers in Daytona beach. Bullies with a badges.

[TTQ B4U]

I realize that the local enforcement is perfectly legal, but I hope H20 - and any other major auto event - never goes to Ocean City, MD again.

 

 

^^ This. It's all about the money so why lie. Just be upfront about it. We know you have money, we know you'll pay it and move on, etc....so we're going to pick your pockets.

[greg1647545532]

I realize that the local enforcement is perfectly legal, but I hope H20 - and any other major auto event - never goes to Ocean City, MD again.

 

Yeah, me too. See, I found myself in Ocean City this past weekend because, as has often happened over the last few years, my wife's family's mini-reunion coincided with H2Oi. Here's my FB status from Thursday:

 

Going to play mini golf with the kids, stuck behind a stanced E36 doing 5 mph below the limit down Coastal Hwy with, I shit you not, a bro in a Guy Fawkes mask hanging out the passenger window taking pictures of his bro in a stanced A4 (with a GoPro on the 1/4 panel). Fuck me, I've accidentally attended H2O Fest again.

 

While the vast majority of these guys just want to cruise slowly up an down Coastal Highway in order to attract the wayward stares of other young men while (harmlessly) annoying old farts in minivans like me, any time you get a large group of testosterone in one place like this you're going to get some assholes who ruin it for everyone. And you don't need to stand on Hwy 1 for more than 5 minutes to spot some of these assholes street racing from stop light to stop light while families are waiting to cross the street. Yes, it's a slow time of year for Ocean City, but it's still a tourist town and there's still tourists there.

 

I also take issue with JB's assertion that

 

Most of these cars have some sort of air-ride suspension so they can be dropped on or near the ground, which causes some fairly outrageous negative camber. The Ocean City Police vigorously prosecutes cars like this at H2O

 

99% of these cars are slammed and poked and cambered and stanced and whatever else might violate state law, and 99% of them aren't hassled at all be the dozens of cops that are stationed along Hwy 1. If they impounded every car that had "too much poke" then they could have just fenced off the campground where the show was held and called it an impound yard. No, they're there to keep the 1% of assholes at bay. I'm sure some innocents are caught up in the melee, but for the most part, I'm 100% comfortable saying that this is a group that needs to be policed. The first year the cops don't show up in force for this thing, it's going to be a complete shitshow.

[greg1647545532]

This article's from last year, but you'll get the idea. Ocean City doesn't want these guys around, and if they can get a little bit of ticket money to cover the police overtime and trash collection, more power to 'em.

[cybe]

Here ya go.

 

http://yooying.com/ocpdrollcall

[Geeto67]

just so you know....here is a very high level basics view of how laws work in this country: The smaller you get in the government, the more narrow the laws can get not broader. The State can be MORE restrictive than the federal government, the County can be more restrictive than the state, the town or township or local government can be more restrictive than the county. But the smaller government can not "overwrite" the authority of the larger one, it can just build of what is already established.

 

Completely fictional example just to make a point: the federal government says the state needs to track vehicle ownership, the state develops a license plate and title system and sets the rules for plates, the country can require you to not use a license plate bracket to obscure the registration sticker, and the township can tell you the plate must be a certain height off the ground and not placed on your dashboard. Each successive law is both enforcing what is already there, plus adding something. The township can not tell you you do not need a front plate if the county or the state already determined you do.

 

 

So, to say local "trumps" state law is wrong - but local can be more restrictive. I have never been to H2O but from what I hear not ever ticket is undeserved, but at the same time the fact that OC MD has determined they don't want it their town and have written very specific laws to target this group via automotive violations is sending a pretty clear message.

[greg1647545532]

The issue in question is, I think, the OCPD guy who said, "Basically, if it won't pass MD inspection we're going to ticket for it." AFAIK that violates the privileges and immunities clause of the constitution because it unfairly punishes people from other states. However, if MD has a specific statute that says the wheels can't stick out past the fenders or something, then it's perfectly constitutional (People v Hutchinson) to ticket out of state drivers for violating that statute, even if their home state has no such statute.

 

And I don't think JB is denying any of that in his editorial, he's just saying that the cops should look the other way because children are the future, or something I can't quite understand. I'm a big JB fan but I think he's wrong on this one.

[El Karacho1647545492]

Stance looks retarded, does not contribute to faster lap times, and is, in fact, retarded. I'm all about the freedom to participate in retarded things if that's your cup of tea, but getting mad that retarding things come with retarded consequences is retarded.

 

Fuckin' retards.

[cybe]

I went to H2O one year and had a great time - no problems. The second time, it was an insane shitfest. The event is now hooligan centric, so I'm not at all surprised to see cars crashed into trees, curbs, stairs, buildings and lots of tickets being handed out.

 

I am surprised by the OCPD effort to do a 'zero tolerance' thing. The event does bring a lot of revenue and publicity, like it or not. I know that doesn't excuse any of the recklessness, but it's a gamble against the small businesses in the area to lose the annual event in favor of 1 week's violator revenue.

 

OCPD posted a list of potential violations which, while they do technically jive with the state code, are being enforced to an extreme.

 

Most days, a cop really couldn't be bothered to stop and write you a ticket for a rear or side window sticker outside the allowable 7" square (yeah, I looked it up), or to impound your car for a performance exhaust. But hey, these punks are here for the show! Bust 'em down.

 

This is the only actual, legal leg to stand on, I think:

 

"because it unfairly punishes people from other states"

 

There are a bunch of people being dicks out there, and I can see a case for escalation. There's a lot of potential for collateral damage to non-punks though, especially for things like Front Plate, Loud Exhaust, Low Suspension, Window Sticker etc.

 

* The actual punks can be impounded/go to jail though. Stupid Games / Stupid Prizes.