BALTIMORE — A new Maryland street racing law goes into effect June 1.
After that, anyone caught racing will be required to show up in court facing up to one year in jail and/or a $1000 fine.
Additionally, violators could have eight or more points assessed to their license leading to a potential suspension and/or revocation of driving privileges.
The General Assembly passed legislation following increased incidents of organized groups taking over highly populated areas, such as major intersections, and turning them into their own personal race course, oftentimes bringing taffic to a screeching halt.
SEE ALSO: Maryland police target street racing, aggressive driving in Baltimore County
The new law offers specific language as to what would be considered a violation.
In short, anyone driving near a crowd purposely committing two or more of the following could be penalized.
- skidding
- squealing or smoking tires
- swerving vehicles
- raucous or disturbing loud noise
- grinding gears
- backfiring
- airborne wheels
- passengers hanging out of windows or on vehicle hoods, etc.
MORE: Alleged street-racing driver killed in I-795 crash
According to lawmakers, there were 139 such incidents reported in Maryland last year.
