The Mass. RMV imposes an automatic and mandatory license suspensions for Massachusetts Junior Operators who have been found responsible for speeding. A first offense will result in a 90 day loss of license and a second offense will result in a mandatory one year loss of license. Also, junior operators who are caught speeding will have to pay a $500.00 reinstatement fee, take a written test, apply for a learner’s permit, and take a road test again. Furthermore, anyone who has his or her JOL suspended for speeding must take the NSC Alive at 25 course and the State Courts Against Road Rage (SCARR) program. JOL Penalties are stiff and the only way to get any type of hardship license is to appear before the Board of Appeal.

However, the Board of Appeal is generally reluctant to issue hardship licenses in JOL speeding cases. In order to succeed, the Junior Operator must convince the Board that he or she is not a danger to public safety and that he or she has an extreme hardship which requires a driver’s license. I have successfully restored the rights of junior operators at the Board of Appeal.

The good news is that there is a way around the JOL suspensions. The Registry does not take action unless and until a responsible finding enters. This can be avoided by appealing the citation to the clerk-Magistrate instead of paying the citation. If you lose at the clerk-magistrate appeal to the judge. If you lose in front of the judge, consider appealing to the Appellate Division of the District Court.

Why so many appeals? It makes sense to appeal because the mandatory license suspension provision of the Mass. JOL suspension law only apply to holders of Massachusetts Junior Operator’s Licenses. The law states that “a holder of a junior operator's license who is convicted” of speeding will have his license suspended. Once you turn 18 years old, you are no longer “a holder of a junior operator’s license” and you cannot therefore be suspended for speeding on a JOL.

I just read a rather interesting article on the subject of Massachusetts traffic citations. It was written by Joe McKinney, a former police officer and police academy instructor. In "More than Just a Ticket," McKinney discusses an interesting statistical study done on Massachusetts traffic tickets. The study showed that local Massachusetts police officers were 24 percent more likely to cite non-residents as opposed to residents in their community. The study also showed that out of state residents were more likely to get cited than Massachusetts residents. Finally, according to the study, the more cash-strapped a community, the more likely its police officers were to issue traffic citations, which generate revenue for the municipality. However, it was noted that traffic citations result safer roadways by reducing the number of accidents and injuries. 

The Boston Globe recently reported on proposed legislation which would require the Mass. RMV to administer mandatory vision screenings for drivers over 75 years old, who are attempting to renew their Massachusetts driver’s licenses. The bill would also provide immunity to physicians who report patients to may be unsafe to drive and it would prohibit text messaging while driving.

In addition to the vision screening, anti-text messaging, and other provisions, the bill would ban Massachusetts Junior Operators from using a cell phone while driving. Cell phone usage is thought to be a major source of driver distraction and a contributing cause to many motor vehicle accidents.

Massachusetts State Representative Charles Murphy (D) Burlington drafted the most recent version of the bill, which I predict will receive criticism from AARP and other groups which represent the interests of senior citizens.

Late Traffic Citation Hearings

The Legal authority that gives the RMV the right to grant a customer a late hearing, before being suspended, on a civil traffic citation is G.L. c. 90C § (A)(4) which states in pertinent part, “[a] violator who does not, within twenty days of the date of the citation, request a non-criminal hearing shall not thereafter be given such a hearing, unless the registrar shall determine that the failure to make such a request timely was for a good cause that was not within the control of the violator.”

Second Traffic Citation Hearings

There is no authority for a Registry Hearing Officer to grant a second hearing on a traffic ticket. The law speaks only to a civil hearing before a magistrate and, in the event of dissatisfaction, an appeal to a justice. Any further appeal is allowed to the Appellate Division of the District Court or Appellate Court. The RMV or Hearing Officer is simply a step in the recording of the process of appealing a citation. No Hearing Officer may grant a hearing on a citation that has already been before a magistrate or judge, even if you failed to appear for your first traffic ticket hearing. A customer may go back to that magistrate, judge or court and ask them for a second hearing and bring such approval in writing to a RMV Hearing Officer to record such permission granted by the court. The RMV does not accept oral approval from any court. The court allowing a new hearing must provide a proper letter stating that it has no objection to a 2nd hearing being granted.

If the Court denies your request for a second hearing on a traffic citation, then the Court previous finding of “responsible” stands, the and you are responsible for all fees related to the citation. The citation and all Mass. License Reinstatement Fees must be paid to MassDOT/RMV to maintain your driving privileges. Also, if the court refuses to grant you a late or second hearing, the citation will count against you for license suspension purposes (e.g. 5 surchargable events, 7 surchargable events, habitual traffic offender, 3 speeding tickets in a year.)

Your license will be suspended for 4 years if you receive a total of three major moving violations, or any combination of twelve major or minor moving violations with in any 5 year period. In most cases, both in-state and out of state violatons will count against you. At the end of the suspension period you will be required to pay a $530 reinstatement fee. You must have taken the National Safety Council Driver Re-Training Class to get reinstated. If your Mass. driving record is accurate, a 4 year suspension is mandatory under the Massachusetts HTO law. However, you can avoid the HTO revocation providing proof that any of the HTO violations are under appeal or that any of the decisions have been reversed through the court system.

Actions taken on 5 surchargeable events, 7 surchargeable events, and Habitual Traffic Offenders (HTO) remain independent of one another. If you have past or current suspensions, you must serve each suspension or revocation independently.

It may be possible to get a hardship license on a Habitual Traffic Offender License Suspension after you have served 1 year of the mandatory 4 year loss of license. Hardship licenses are available by appealing to the Registry of Motor Vehicles or the Registry Board of Appeal, after 1 year of the 4 year license revocation has been served.

Your license will be suspended for 4 years if you receive a total of three major moving violations, or any combination of twelve major or minor moving violations with in any 5 year period. In most cases, both in-state and out of state violatons will count against you. At the end of the suspension period you will be required to pay a $530 reinstatement fee. You must have taken the National Safety Council Driver Re-Training Class to get reinstated. If your Mass. driving record is accurate, a 4 year suspension is mandatory under the Massachusetts HTO law. However, you can avoid the HTO revocation providing proof that any of the HTO violations are under appeal or that any of the decisions have been reversed through the court system.

Actions taken on 5 surchargeable events, 7 surchargeable events, and Habitual Traffic Offenders (HTO) remain independent of one another. If you have past or current suspensions, you must serve each suspension or revocation independently.

It may be possible to get a hardship license on a Habitual Traffic Offender License Suspension after you have served 1 year of the mandatory 4 year loss of license. Hardship licenses are available by appealing to the Registry of Motor Vehicles or the Registry Board of Appeal, after 1 year of the 4 year license revocation has been served.

Civil violations, such as not obeying traffic signals or speeding, are considered non-criminal and can usually be settled by paying fines. If you receive a citation from a law enforcement officer for a civil motor vehicle infraction (CMVI), you must pay the required fine or request a court hearing to dispute the citation within 20 days.

If you do not respond to a citation within 20 days, you will be found responsible and charged a substantial late payment fee. Continued failure to pay the citation and late fee will cause your license to be suspended. Paying a motor vehicle citation fine means you accept responsibility for that violation. Your driving record will note that you have accepted responsibility for a citation whether you paid the citation by mail, requested a hearing and were ordered by a court to pay the fine, failed to appear for your hearing or you failed to respond to the citation within the 20-day period.

As of July 1, 2009, all requests for a clerk magistrate hearing are subject to a $25 filing fee. The fee is collected by the court at the time of your hearing. DO NOT mail the $25 filing fee with your request for a court hearing.

All moving violations are tracked in Massachusetts by the RMV and are recorded on your driving record. Moving violations can affect your motor vehicle insurance rate and may cause your license to be suspended.

Parking violations are not considered CMVIs. They are handled by the city or town that issued the citations or tickets. However, unpaid parking violations will prevent you from renewing your driver's license or vehicle registration.

The Mass. RMV will automatically suspend your driver's license if you accumulate any combination of 5 moving violations (citations / tickets) and/or surchargeable accidents within any 3-year period. If your license is suspended for 5 surchargable events, you cannot get any type of hardship or work license. If your driving record is accurate, the RMV will not reinstate your driver's license unless and until you take the required remedial driving class.

You have 90 days to provide proof that an 8 hour National Safety Council course has been completed. To schedule a Safety Course call 800-215-1581. Once the course is completed the National Safety Council will electronically notify the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the pending suspension will be cleared without a reinstatement fee. This course is also required for reinstatements from habitual traffic offender revocations and JOL speeding violations. If you fail to complete and pass the course within the 90 day time frame, the suspension will become effective on the date listed on the notice. The National Safety Council course must still be completed, and a $100 reinstatement fee will be due. This suspension is mandatory under Massachusetts law.

The Board of Appeal of the Massachusetts Division of Insurance of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations has the legal authority to reverse or modify decisions of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. The Board hears license suspension appeals and Massachusetts hardship license cases in various locations throughout the state.

The Board was previously located on the third floor of the Boston branch of the Mass. RMV at 630 Washington Street in Chinatown. The Board has since  moved to South Station in Boston.

Effective Monday, March 22, 2010, the RMV Board of Appeal will be moving again. Both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Insurance and the Board of Appeal on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bonds will be relocating to new offices. The new address is: 1000 Washington Street, 8th floor Boston MA 02118. Boston Hardship License Hearings will be conducted at the Board's office. The Board also holds hearings in Plymouth, Marlborough, and Springfield.

In the case of Kevin Perry v. Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, a superior court judge ruled that it was improper for the Registry of Motor Vehicles to suspend Perry’s license, for unlawful possession of a class b controlled substance with intent to distribute, years after his drug conviction.

On October 5, 2005, Perry was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts of possession of a class B controlled substance (ecstasy) with intent to distribute it. He was sentenced to ninety-four months in prison. (The feds. don’t play).

After his release, Perry went to the Registry to renew his driver’s license on or around April 11, 2008. At that time, the Registry learned of his 2005 federal drug conviction.  On April 11, 2008, the Registry, officially notified Perry, that his driver's license would be suspended for three year beginning on April 21, 2008, pursuant to the Registry’s drug suspension guidelines. The Registry noted that it could not consider a request for a hardship license until Perry has served at least half of the assigned 3 year drug suspension period.

Perry appealed, claiming that the Registry lacked the lawful authority to suspend his license years after his drug conviction.  In ruling on his appeal, the superior court held as follows: “The proper date for the start of Perry's driver's license suspension must be October 5, 2005, the date of his conviction for possession of a class B controlled substance with intent to distribute it. That suspension began automatically on October 5, 2005, as an ancillary part: of his criminal proceedings in federal court.”

The court also ruled that “[w]hile G.L. c. 90 § 22(f) is' silent as to when a driver license suspension should commence, the fairest and most reasonable interpretation is that the suspension must begin immediately upon conviction, and not notice to the Registry.”

This ruling can be used in cases where the Registry delays suspending someone’s license for sometimes as long as several years after conviction.