BALTIMORE – Maryland lawmakers are tackling two big issues involving safety on the roads.
They want to increase the number of cameras and the penalties for automated fines in work zones after a deadly crash on Baltimore’s Beltway last year. There is also a push to increase penalties for dangerous street racing.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren covered hearings for both measures Thursday in Annapolis.
Street takeovers have long plagued communities across Maryland—a dangerous practice with drivers blocking roadways and doing donuts while crowds watch just inches away .
There were more than 130 incidents recorded last year alone, including in Baltimore City and County, at times overwhelming law enforcement officers who often have little recourse other than fines for violators.
“I want effective law enforcement, effective justice so we can stop this nonsense because people are getting hurt, people are getting killed,” Chief Russ Hamill of the Laurel Police Department told lawmakers.