To raise awareness about the dangers of drowsy driving, the National Sleep Foundation and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles have declared this week Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. Experts claim that drowsy driving is an under-reported and under-recognized public safety issue. Only New Jersey has a law, known as Maggie's Law, which criminalizes drowsy driving in fatal accident cases. Drowsy driving is a particularly important issue for college students and young adults, who have been found to generally be more sleep-deprived than the population at large.

Drowsy driving incidents can result in the filing of an immediate threat report by police. Once filed, this report results in the immediate suspension of the driver's license. In most immediate threat cases, the driver must obtain medical clearance which includes the completion of various forms including the Registry's Medical Clearance Form. The Registry is extremely diligent in making sure that drivers who are involved in accidents or other events which trigger immediate threat reports have been declared safe to drive by a licensed physician. In some cases, the Registry's Medical Affairs Branch will schedule competency road tests.

Due to a lack of training regarding drowsy driving, police officers may mistake this for drunk driving or operating under the influence of drugs. Although drowsy driving is a danger, there is no law which specifically prohibits it. Instead, a driver who is found to be too tried to safely drive would likely be charged with operating so as to endanger, which is a criminal offense which will trigger a mandatory 60 day license revocation for a first offense and a 1 year license revocation for a 2nd conviction.

A hearing will be held later this month regarding the moving of the Mass. Registry of Motor Vehicles from a high rent location in Southbridge to a free location at the Mass. Pike Service Area in Charlton.

The new Charlton RMV Branch opened on August 10th when the Southbridge Branch was closed to save money. Citizens and politicians alike have criticized the move, claiming that the new Registry location in Charlton is in an inconvenient and unsafe location which is difficult to access.

The Registry’s move from Southbridge tor Charlton was part of a cost saving reorganization where the RMV moved almost a dozen branches from expensive locations, where the Registry was paying to lease the space, to public buildings where the space is free. This will save millions of dollars.

There are no Registry Hearings Officers at the Charlton RMV Branch. This means that drivers who are seeking hardship licenses or have license suspension-related issues should go to another branch. The Mass. RMV Branch in Worcester conducts hearings from Monday through Friday during the branch's normal business hours. Certain suspension cases, such as breathalyzer refusal appeals and ignition interlock violation hearings, are only heard at the Registry's Driver Control Unit, which is located at the Boston RMV.

I get a high volume of inquiries regarding whether the use of an ignition interlock device is really required. Massachusetts license holders contact me after the Mass. RMV has informed them that they will need to use a certified breath alcohol ignition interlock device in any vehicle which the own, lease , or drive. This ignition interlock requirement must remain in place during any Massachusetts hardship license and for 2 years after the driver gets the restricted hours removed from his or her license.

Breath alcohol ignition interlock devices are lockout devices which prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver’s blood alcohol registers above .02. To insure that the driver did not have someone else blow into his or her device, the interlock device requires drivers to provide breath samples at random intervals while the vehicle is being driven.

Ignition interlock devices are required, by Melanie’s Law, to be used by anyone with 2 or more OUI convictions or alcohol program assignments on his or her record who is reinstating a license or coming off of a hardship license after January 1, 2006. In the vast majority of cases, if the Registry of Motor Vehicles states that a driver is interlock-required, there is no way to get around the requirement. Neither the Mass. RMV nor the Board of Appeal will “bend the law” or make exceptions. If you are legally required to have the interlock device, there is no way around it.

Both the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Board of Appeal view the ignition interlock device as an effective tool which protects the public by physically prohibiting someone who has consumed alcohol from driving. Neither agency has any interest in excusing people from using what its proponents tout as a lifesaving device. In fact, there is legislation pending at the Massachusetts Statehouse which would toughen Melanie’s Law by requiring even first offenders to use the ignition interlock device. It is likely that this legislation will pass. 

Attorney Brian E. Simoneau is an expert on the Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device. He has successfully defended clients charged with interlock violations at the Registry, Board of Appeal, and in Superior Court.  If you are charged with a Massachusetts Ignition Interlock Violation, contact him today at 508-881-1119.

The Massachusetts Habitual Traffic Offender law results in a 4 year automatic license revocation for a conviction of 3 major violations, 12 minor violations, or any combination thereof, within any 5 year period. This 5 year HTO period is measured by conviction and not offense dates.

Major violations include: OUI, Operating so as to Endanger, making a false statement in a Registry Document, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Operating After Suspension or Revocation, driving without a license, or using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony.

Minor violations include any offense for which the Registry is authorized to suspend a driver’s license for 30 days or more. These include most moving violations such a speeding, and failing stop for a stop sign, red light, etc…

It is important to understand the Massachusetts Habitual Traffic Offender Law when deciding whether to plead out to a criminal motor vehicle offense or take the case to trial. In any cases where there is even a remote possibility of a Habitual Traffic Offender Revocation, your record should be thoroughly reviewed to avoid what could be a very unpleasant surprise, a 4 year license revocation. Although the HTO revocation is automatic, there are some tactical and strategic legal maneuvers which your attorney may be able to use to avoid triggering it.

If your license is revoked under the Mass. Habitual Traffic Offender Law, you can be considered for a hardship license after serving 1 year of the 4 year license revocation. You must have taken the National Safety Council Driver Retraining Class within 3 years of applying for a hardship license.

As part of a massive statewide restructuring, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, which was part of the Executive Office of Transportation, has now been made part of the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation. This new agency comprises the Mass. RMV as well as the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, MBTA, and Mass. Highway Department.

The new state agency, referred to as Mass DOT, is supposed to save millions and be transparent and responsive. Secretary of Transportation Jeffery Mullen was named the head of the new unified transportation agency, which will also have a 5 member Board of Directors.

The transfer of the Registry of Motor Vehicles to MassDOT should have little impact on those seeking hardship licenses or license reinstatements. The same laws and procedures, and requirements will apply. 

Going to the Registry of Motor Vehicles for a hardship license hearing unprepared or too early can be a costly mistake. A client was just denied hardship relief at the RMV because she had a Registry hearing over a year ago and, at that time, she was denied hardship relief. Since her last hardship license hearing, several suspensions expired and she was able to get a 3 year chemical test refusal suspension vacated by a district court judge, because she was found not guilty of the 2nd offense OUI charge.

Nevertheless, even though the other suspensions were no longer in effect, the Registry refused to grant her a hardship license hearing on a 4 year Habitual Traffic Offender Revocation, because she previously had a hearing and was turned down. Now, she is forced to go to the Board of Appeal and wait approximately 2 months for a hearing. In the meantime, she suffers with no license and she has extreme difficulty getting to work and school.

This case shows how important it is to make sure that you are well prepared for a Registry hardship license hearing and how going to the RMV too early can cost you. It is important to proceed carefully when dealing with the Mass. RMV and Board of Appeal and unprepared appellants run the risk of being denied hardship relief and find themselves in the unenviable position of fighting a denial.

Many clients come to me after they have made the mistake of trying to represent themselves and, as a result, have taken procedural missteps which resulted in an adverse Registry or Board of Appeal finding. Situations like this are preventable. By going to the Registry or Board of Appeal at the right time, with the proper documentation, and a well-prepared case, you can increase your chances of being granted hardship relief. Appearing too soon, or without having done the necessary research and preparation, can and often does backfire and result in a denial of hardship relief. Do not let this happen to you. 

Massachusetts Senate Bill 1925, which was filed on January 13, 2009 in the Senate, would require mandatory use of a certified ignition interlock device for DUI First Offenders during the entire term of any Massachusetts Hardship License and for 6 months after the DUI first offender gets a full license reinstatement. Currently, Melanie's Law only requires second or subsequent OUI offenders to use the ignition interlock device.

If this proposed legislation passes, Massachusetts will join 8 other states which require DUI First Offenders to use interlock. The other states are Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana New Mexico Nebraska and Washington. Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been pushing for laws requiring use of the ignition interlock device across the country. The group claims that first offenders represent 50-60 percent of those arrested for OUI.

A public hearing was held at the Mass. Statehouse last month on this bill and it is expected to receive strong support.