News, Police

Police to target out of state vehicle tags, seek help with wide loads

by Geoff Fox

Some people living within the Town of Hancock have avoided switching their vehicle tags to Maryland for years.

Councilman Roland Lanehart, Jr. brought this to the attention of town officials and told them Hancock Police will begin enforcing having Maryland tags on people’s vehicles if they live in Hancock.

“Needs to stop,” Lanehart said.

State law requires vehicle owners to register their cars or trucks within 60 days of moving to Maryland.

Wide loads

In other police business, Town Manager Mike Faith told town officials he spoke with Sgt. Rich Miller of the Hancock Police Department recently about wide loads coming through town recently.

In the last couple weeks, wide loads have caused issues with one trying to make a left turn from Main Street to U.S. 522 and backing up northbound traffic far into West Virginia and south-bound traffic onto the interstates, and another hauling a boat through town prior to the Halloween Parade and getting caught up trying to make the turn onto Virginia Avenue by Sheetz and High Street.

Faith said there’s work on the Sandy Mile Bridge on Interstate 68 and workers hanging below the bridge, those wide loads are being routed through town.

Faith noted one came through town last Monday, the day before the meeting, and had traffic blocked in the area of Hendershots.

“People couldn’t get around him,” Faith said.

Because Main Street is a state highway (MD 144), there is nothing the Town of Hancock can do to keep the wide loads from coming through town.

The only thing the town could do, Councilman Josh McCusker said, is possibly contact the State Police barrack in Hagerstown to voice their complaints.

When the wide loads come through, there’s usually a Maryland State Police trooper as part of the escort. The one before the Halloween Parade had one.