Ocean City Police prepare for H2Oi event
With the H2Oi car show quickly approaching this weekend, Ocean City police, along with five other agencies working in tandem, are preparing for the worst.
H2Oi, which stands for water-cooled import vehicles, is a show primarily focused on heavily-modified Audis and Volkswagens. While not an officially sanctioned annual Ocean City event, it has become one of the largest and perhaps most notorious.
"We've been preparing for many months now to protect the people in town for the event, along with a lot of people not for the event," said Lindsay Richard, spokeswoman for the Ocean City Police Department.
Richard also noted the five agency collaboration currently running through the fall, with assistance from the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, Wicomico County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office and Maryland Transportation Authority Police as crucial to keeping the peace during large autumn events.
"We're going to have police in town," Richard said. "But, of course, we're going to have a lot of people in town."
READ MORE: Officials: H2Oi went smoothly
READ MORE: Ocean City wary of car shows after death, burnouts, fights
H2Oi event organizers could not be reached for comment.
During 2015's H2Oi event, police responded to 773 service calls compared to 1,096 in 2014. Additionally, arrests totaled at 38, well below the 53 estimated Thursday to Sunday average. The event was officially based out of Camp Whaley Campground in Whaleyville.
"As a result of the rain, the roads were a lot more clear, and a lot less people were going out," Richard said.
One of the more notorious incidents occurred in 2014. During one large fight around 45th Street, two Pennsylvania men were arrested for assaulting a police horse. Richard said the majority of the incidents reported are along the lines of traffic violations and disorderly conduct, more so than serious crime.
Bill Goodwin, president of the Ocean City Cruzers, a classic car club, said it's the attitude of the H2Oi community that leads to more problems.
"To be honest, they're mostly young punks looking to burn rubber, do donuts and cause problems," Goodwin said.
READ MORE: State police make 460 traffic stops at H2Oi
Goodwin said that, during H2Oi, cars drive with uniform recklessness, as well as often scrawling expletives in painter's tape on the vehicles. However, he strongly insisted that, while the problems associated with H2Oi can cause skepticism of all car events in the Ocean City community, including the Endless Cruisin' event scheduled for the following weekend, it is not indicative of the entire culture.
"Most of the Endless Crusin' crowd are more older car enthusiasts looking to appreciate each other's cars," Goodwin said. "There's always going to be a bad apple here or there, someone trying to prove he has the biggest and baddest car by burning rubber down Coastal Highway, but that's a small minority."
Both Richard and Goodwin agreed that the heavy modifications, often to lower the car to extreme "stance" positions, are a large part of H2Oi's problems.
"A lot of these cars are modified so much that they are unsafe to be on the road," Goodwin said.
Richard also noted that, regardless of the legality of the modifications in the car's home state, any modifications in violation of Maryland state law are subject to tickets or impounding.
Ultimately, Ocean City police have taken a stance that, while the unsanctioned event is welcomed in Ocean City, the utmost importance is safety.
"Every event brings a different crowd, and those crowds will always act differently," Richard said. "We want all of those crowds to feel welcomed and enjoy Ocean City, but we also need to keep the town safe."