Mass. residents who are arrested for DUI in the State of Maine may be able to get back on the road with a hardship license, which is known as a work-restricted license in Maine.  These licenses are available so that people who have had their licenses or right to drive suspended due to a Maine DUI arrest can get to and from work and drive as part of their work-related duties. A restricted license will also allow the driver to get to and from his or her assigned DUI alcohol education program.

Work licenses are only available if the driver has not had a drunk driving license suspension within the past 10 years and where there is no breathalyzer refusal.  Where the driver’s BAC is .20 or higher, he or she must convince the Secretary of State’s office that he or she has addressed any alcohol issue which resulted in the high blood alcohol content. 

Restricted work licenses should not be confused with “conditional licenses.” In Maine, conditional licenses are issued to those who have been convicted of DUI. These are “zero tolerance” licenses, meaning that the license holder cannot have any alcohol in his or her system.

If you are a Massachusetts resident and you get a DUI in Maine, the State of Maine will revoke your right to drive. If the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles receives notification of this, the Registry will indefinitely suspend your Massachusetts license. However, if you are able to obtain a Maine restricted license, you may be able to reinstate your Mass. license by going to the Board of Appeal. 

For more information on Maine work-restricted licenses, see Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29A, § 2503.

To avoid a “breath test refusal” license revocation in Massachusetts, those arrested for drunk driving must provide two long and continuous breath samples, so that the breathalyzer registers the air volume as sufficient and produces a BAC result.

Massachusetts police departments use breathalyzers manufactured by Draeger Safety Diagnostics, Inc. Some Departments use the Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C and all Massachusetts Police Departments are transitioning to the Drager Alcotest 9510. Both of these units require a considerable amount of breath to operate. The Alcotest’s infrared chamber captures and analyzes the breath sample provided, which consists of deep lung air. Both breathalyzer models require 1.5 liters of breath volume to register BAC readings. If a person does not blow long or hard enough, the breathalyzer will not produce a blood alcohol reading and the police will consider the driver’s conduct a “refusal.” Police officers have been instructed that failure to provide a proper breath sample constitutes a “refusal.” However, this definition of a “refusal” may be too broad.

Sometimes, the failure to provide sufficient breath samples is intentional. The driver deliberately does not blow long or hard enough, so the breathalyzer will not record his blood alcohol content. However, in other cases, the driver cannot provide a sufficient sample due to a respiratory or other medical condition. For example, those with COPD, emphysema, asthma, lung cancer, or related respiratory conditions may not be able to blow long or hard enough to satisfy the breathalyzer. Also, there have been documented cases of women over 60 years of age being charged with chemical test refusals because they were physically incapable of providing the required sample of 1.5 liters of breath.

In order to avoid a license suspension ranging from 6 months to life, breathalyzer refusal suspensions should be appealed to the Registry, District Court, or Board of Appeal. The avenue of appeal will depend on the suspension reason and type of appeal. If you have received a letter from the Mass. RMV regarding a chemical test refusal suspension, you should contact a lawyer, such as Attorney Brian E. Simoneau, who has successfully challenged a large number of breathalyzer refusal suspensions and gotten his clients’ licenses reinstated.

Massachusetts drivers who have the misfortune of being arrested for DUI in New York may be able to benefit from a recent New York Court Ruling where it was determined that a New York Court has the legal authority and power to grant a hardship license to an out-of-state driver, whose right to drive in New York was suspended as a result of his DWI arrest. The out of state driver in the case was licensed in New Jersey and charged with both DUI and Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI).

Under New York Law, an out-of-state defendant may be issued a “conditional privilege of operating a motor vehicle in New York,” so long as he or she participates in an alcohol education program. This is good news for Massachusetts residents who are arrested for DUI in New York, as I have successfully used the granting of out of state driving privileges to convince the Mass. Board of Appeal to grant hardship licenses here in Massachusetts.

In ruling that out of state drivers could be issued New York Hardship Licenses, the court recognized that the same law which authorizes New York to suspend the driving privileges of a non-resident allows it to grant hardship relief. However, the person seeking the hardship license must still demonstrate an “extreme” need for a license. The New York Hardship Licensing Law, VTL 1193 (2) (e) (7) (e), defines an “extreme hardship” as “the inability to obtain alternative means of travel to or from the licensee's employment.”

New York also appears to grant conditional licenses, which are different from hardship licenses. Issued pursuant to Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1196 [7], which the New York State Legislature enacted on April 15, 1988 and which the Governor signed on November 1, 1988. Under this law, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles can grant conditional licenses, which are only valid for the conditions established by the New York DMV.

Massachusetts residents who are convicted of DUI or DWAI in New York can be considered for conditional driving privileges upon enrollment in the New York Drinking Driver Program. The program includes alcohol screening, classroom participation, and group discussions. For drivers who are identified “at risk,” the program may also include an alcohol evaluation and substance abuse treatment. After finishing the program, you will receive a Notice of Completion and a copy will be sent to the NY DMV. It is critical to retain this important document for later use at the Mass. RMV or Board of Appeal. 

Anyone convicted of DUI or Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) or those who refuse a breathalyzer must pay a New York “Driver Responsibility Assessment” of $750.00. The NY DMV will not clear your record in the National Driver Register until this fee is paid.

DUI Attorney Jeanne Koehr, a former member of the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal is admitted to practice in both New York and Massachusetts, where she handles license suspension and reinstatement cases.

Massachusetts was the first state to issue driver's licenses beginning the practice in 1907. Since then, a RMV Identification card or driver’s license has become the most commonly used ID in the United States, essential for driving, applying for employment, dealing with police, entering age-barred venues, traveling on planes, purchasing age-barred products such as alcohol, using checks and credit cards, etc.

In order to get a Massachusetts driver’s license or identification card, the Registry requires applicant’s to have a valid social security number. The Registry compares Social Security Numbers provided with official Social Security records in order to find mismatching information that might indicate the misuse of a (SSN) to falsely obtain a driver’s license or RMV ID card. When this happens, the Registry sends a letter to the applicant indicating “Comp. Fraud Lic/ID.” This means that the RMV has received a complaint, usually from the Mass. State Police, that person obtained or tried to obtain a false license or ID.

As part of the state’s anti-terrorism and “Real ID” efforts, special unit of the Massachusetts State Police uses facial recognition software and technology provided by L1 Identity Solutions to find license fraud by comparing facial images on license records. When the computer finds someone’s photograph on two different license records, the Mass. State Troopers in the unit are notified. After viewing the images and confirming that one person received or tried to get two different licenses or ID cards, a “Comp. Fraud Lic/ID” case is opened and both licenses are indefinitely revoked.

The Massachusetts Registry complies with the Real ID Act, which establishes minimum standards regarding driver’s licenses and Registry IDs. A license or identification document that does not meet certain standards will not be valid for boarding airplanes, opening bank accounts, entering government buildings and all other arenas where valid federal ID is required. These standards include, among other things, clear rules about what documents will be required to obtain ID; a requirement that the ID display full legal name, gender, date of birth, a digital photograph, an identification card number, an address, and a signature; machine-readable technology with minimum data elements defined by the Act's regulations; and anti-fraud elements designed to prevent counterfeit.

To protect the security and integrity of licenses, and find fake licenses or IDs, motor vehicle departments use "batch checking." Batch checking is the practice of verifying identification documents and seeking out fraudulently obtained licenses or identification cards. To accomplish this, different government agencies compare records to find individuals with non-matching information in various systems. For example, in 2004, several states, including New York began to compare their DMV records with Social Security records to identify individuals with mismatching information. Within the first few months, the practice identified over 300,000 people in the state with information on their DMV IDs that was somehow different from what the Social Security Administration had in its records associated with that SS number.  These people received letters warning them that their licenses would be suspended, and many ultimately lost their right to drive.

Providing false information to the Registry on a license or ID application is a felony which carries a potential sentence of up to 5 years in state prison and an automatic driver’s license revocation. If you have received a letter from the Mass. Registry indicating that you right to drive is going to be indefinitely suspended due to a Comp. Fraud Lic/ID, you should contact a lawyer such as Attorney Brian E. Simoneau.

You cannot get your license or right to drive reinstated, or get a hardship license, unless and until you personally appear for a hearing with the Registry’s Special Investigations Unit. There is no way to get around this hearing requirement. You are entitled to be represented by a lawyer and, given the potential penalties, it is strongly recommended.