The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has announced an innovative new notification program which will electronically remind Massachusetts license holders when their licenses are about to expire.

Yesterday, the RMV announced that it had contracted with, Sendza Inc., a Marlboro-based firm which specializes in electronic messaging to provide courtesy reminder messages regarding license expirations. This program replaces the paper expiration reminder notices which, until last October, were mailed out to Massachusetts Drivers.

The Registry was forced to discontinue mailing the expiration notices because of budget cuts. The RMV reported a savings of apporixmately $800,000 when it stopped mailing the courtesy reminders. Many criticized the move. However, given the state's fiscal situation, it was a responsible way to save a substantial amount of money.

The service will provide text, electronic mail, or a recorded voice message reminder 30 days prior to the expiration of the subscriber's license. Subscription is free and you can enroll via the Mass. RMV website. 

There are two potential sources for hardship licenses in Massachusetts, the Registry of Motor Vehicles and the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal. The Board has the legal authority to order the Registry to issue a hardship license, even when the RMV has initially refused to do so or where the Registry says that you cannot get a hardship license (e.g. 7 Surchargable Event or JOL Speeding License Suspensions).

However, there are certain waiting periods for hardship licenses. This means that you must serve a portion of the license suspension period prior to attempting to get a hardship license. These waiting periods are statutory, meaning that they are written into the Massachusetts hardship license laws.

The Massachusetts hardship license waiting periods are as follows:

For a 2nd offense OUI, you must serve 1 year of the 2 year license suspension.

For a 3rd offense OUI, you must serve 2 years of the 8 year license suspension.

For a 4th offense OUI, you must serve 5 years of the 10 year license suspension.

For a 5th offense OUI, your license will be revoked for life. There is no provision for hardship licensing. However, it may be possible to get a hardship license after you have served a considerable period of the suspension and you have a legitimate and documented need to drive.

The above-listed suspension periods are in addition to any chemical test refusal suspension, which must be served first. CTR suspensions run consecutively and not concurrently with OUI suspensions. Please contact Attorney Brian E. Simoneau, using the contact form on this site if you are interested in appealing your CTR or breathalyzer refusal suspension.

You will need to have the ignition interlock device installed in your vehicle during the entire term of any hardship license for the above-listed DUI suspensions and for a 2 year period after reinstating your full license. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule.

Habitual Traffic Offenders must serve 1 year of the 4 year license revocation prior to applying for a hardship license.

Drug Offenders must serve 1/2 of the license suspension before seeking a hardship license.

In rare cases of extreme hardship, it may be possible to get a license from the Board of Appeal sooner than the above-listed waiting periods. However, the Board of Appeal generally follows the above-listed guidelines and the RMV always adheres to them. The Registry absolutely will not consider issuing a hardship license if you have not served these minimum suspension periods.

Also, the Board of Appeal routinely does not give "credit for time served" on a license suspension if the person seeking a hardship license was incarcerated for a substantial period of time. The Board's logic is that the person could not have driven if he or she wanted to.

If you apply for a hardship license too early, you run the risk of the Board of Appeal voting to affirm the suspension without giving you a re-apply date. If this happens, you may have to serve the full length of the suspension, with no hardship relief. Contact Attorney Brian Simoneau for more information.  

If you have any questions regarding how to get a Hardship License, please contact me.

Attorney Brian E. Simoneau

A Leominster, Massachusetts driver is facing felony attempted murder charges after her car allegedly struck another woman who was crossing the street with her daughter.

Police allege that the driver of the car, Megan Ciccone, 20 year old, from Leominster, intentionally attempted to strike the victim and her daughter.  The two women have an ongoing dispute that almost ended in tragedy. The victim allegedly reacted by throwing her daughter out of the way of Ciccone’s vehicle, which almost struck the pair as they were in a crosswalk on Third Street at approximately 5:30 PM on Wednesday. The victim ended up on the hood of Ciccone’s vehicle. 

Ciccone left the scene of the collision, but later turned herself in to Leominster Police. She was arrested and charged with failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, failure to stay within marked lanes, leaving the scene of an accident, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, and assault with intent to commit murder. Ciccone was arraigned in Leominster District Court on Thursday and held on bail.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles undoubtedly suspended Ciccone’s license under the state’s immediate threat law. This law allows the RMV to immediately suspend a driver’s license whenever a driver commits motor vehicle law violations which indicate that allowing the driver to remain on the road would constitute an immediate threat to public safety. Based on the allegations here, there is no question that allowing Ciccone to continue driving would jeopardize public safety. If her license is suspended under the immediate threat law, she has the right to a hearing before a Regisry Hearings Officer within 10 days of the revocation. However, because of the facts of the case, it is highly unlikely that the RMV would reinstate her license until the criminal charges are resolved.

If she is convicted of any of the criminal offenses, Ciccone’s license will be automatically suspended. Leaving the scene of an accident, using a motor vehicle as a weapon, and using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony are some of the 64 ways to have your Massachusetts license suspended. Because of her extremely dangerous driving behavior, I predict that neither the Registry of Motor Vehicles nor the Board of Appeal would grant her a hardship license.

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Immediate Threat Law, the Registry of Motor Vehicles revoked the license of Thomas Larivee, the 19 year old driver of a vehicle involved in a fatal accident that claimed the life of 15 year old Alessandra Castner of Marblehead on August 24th.  The RMV took prompt and decisive action to revoke Larivee's driver's license in spite of allegations that  Larivee would receive lenient treatment because of alleged family connections.

In a prepared statement, Larivee's lawyer claimed that the Registry's actions "are without legal basis and will be dealt with accordingly."

Larivee's Massachusetts driving record contained a surchargable accident and a JOL Speeding Violation, which required Larivee to complete the NSC Alive at 25 and the State Courts Against Road Rage SCARR programs. His license was suspended for 90 days as a result of the JOL Speeding citation.

The Registry revoked Larivee's license under the immediate threat law. This law allows the Mass. RMV to revoke someone's license when the driver has committed a violation of motor vehicle laws, the nature of which would lead the Registry to be believe that allowing the person to continue to drive would constitute an immediate threat to public safety. The Registry of Motor Vehicles has a longstanding practice of immediately revoking licenses as a result of fatal motor vehicle accidents and it processes approximately 75 immediate threat suspensions each week. Individuals who have had their license revoked under the immediate threat law are allowed to have a Registry of Motor Vehicles hearing within 10 days of the license revocation. They can also appeal the suspensions to the Massachusetts Board of Appeal.