Massachusetts · Handbook chapter 8 · 5 min read

Civil and criminal motor vehicle violations in Massachusetts, how speeding fines are worked out, at-fault crashes, surchargeable events, the Safe Driver Insurance Plan, driver retraining and mandatory license suspensions.

Why this chapter matters

The permit exam includes questions on suspensions and penalties, and Massachusetts tracks your record through surchargeable events that affect both your license and your insurance. Learn the speeding formula and the 3, 3 and 7 rules.

Your driving record

The RMV records three kinds of events that can cost you your license:

• Civil motor vehicle infractions (CMVIs), such as speeding or running a signal.
• Criminal violations, such as OUI, driving on a suspended license or leaving the scene of a crash.
• At-fault crashes, where you are judged more than 50 percent at fault.

Penalties are often stiffer for Junior Operators, drivers under 21, repeat offenders and CDL holders.

Civil infractions

• You have 20 days to pay a citation or ask for a hearing. If you do nothing, you are found responsible and charged a large late fee, and not paying leads to suspension.
• Requesting a hearing costs a $25 filing fee, refunded if you are found not responsible for every violation on the citation.
• Paying the fine means you accept responsibility.
• Most CMVI fines carry an extra $5 public safety surcharge.
• Parking tickets are handled by the city or town, not the RMV, but unpaid ones block your license and registration renewals.

Speeding fines

The lowest speeding penalty is a $100 fine, plus the surcharges. For every mph above the first 10 mph over the limit, add $10.

Example from the manual: 73 mph in a 55 mph zone is 18 mph over. The first 10 mph costs $105 and the next 8 mph cost 8 x $10 = $80, for a total fine of $185.

• Speeding fines double in a posted work zone.
• Three speeding violations in 12 months bring an automatic 30-day suspension.
• A Junior Operator loses the license for 90 days for a first speeding offense and one year for any later one.

Criminal violations

You can be arrested on the spot, have your car towed and lose your license. The court sets any fine or jail time. Refusing to give an officer your name and address, the owner's name and address, your license or registration, or your signature can also lead to arrest.

Out-of-state violations

Violations in other states count as if they happened in Massachusetts. The RMV applies Massachusetts suspension rules even when the other state did not suspend you, and you cannot get your license back until you clear the other state's obligations and pay a reinstatement fee of at least $100.

At-fault crashes

You are treated as more than 50 percent at fault when your insurer finds you at fault under one of 19 Standards of Fault (for example, a rear-end collision, a collision on the wrong side of the road, hitting a parked car, a left turn across another vehicle's path, opening a door into traffic, or a collision while merging onto a highway or into a rotary) and has paid more than $1,000 on the claim.

Surchargeable events

Moving violations and at-fault crashes are surchargeable events. They count toward suspension and raise your insurance through the Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP), run by the Merit Rating Board. A clean record can lower your premium.

The retraining course does not erase anything from your record; it is meant to change driving behavior.

Driving records

An attested copy of your driving record costs $20; an unattested one ordered online costs $8.

Suspension and revocation

The RMV may suspend or revoke your license immediately if your driving is a threat to public safety. It must also suspend for some non-driving reasons, such as unpaid child support, unpaid state income tax or a bounced payment to the RMV.

• Using a fake or altered license or ID, or someone else's, can bring a suspension of up to six months even without a conviction, and one year after a conviction.
• If your license is suspended, stop driving at once. Driving on a suspended or revoked license is a crime.
• Most reinstatement fees are $100; serious offenses can cost up to $1,200.
• After a suspension of two years or more, you must pass the permit exam and road test again.
• You cannot renew a license with unpaid parking tickets, unpaid excise tax, outstanding warrants or unpaid toll violations.

Criminal offenses and suspensions (examples)