Drivers frequently accelarate their speed to meet up with demands of their everyday lives. While facts show virtually all drivers will have speeded at one point in their lives, this act can cause serious consequences and great inconvinience to drivers.

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Additional Resources:

• How Do I fight a Speeding ticket in Massachusetts?
• Why should I hire an attorney to fight a traffic ticket?

Reckless and negligent driving are two almost interchangeably used terms. Reckless driving is often defined as a mental state in which the driver displays a volitional disregard for rules and procedures causing accidents and damages. On the other hand, negligent driving is defined as such but covers wider aspects of driver’s behavior while driving such as external factors of alcohol consumption, drug use, and phone use. While the driver does not really intend to cause harm as in cases of reckless driving, his actions in one way or another cause accidents.

Below are some common offenses classified as both reckless and negligent:

• Driving too closely
• Unsafe lane change
• Phone use while driving (Texting, calls, GPS Maps, Social media)
• Drag Racing
• Speeding
• Failure to yield the right of way
• any other acts that may potentially cause accidents leading to injury or damage to property

Penalties

Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 90, § 24 (2016) states that any driver convicted of engaging in negligent operation can be penalized with imprisonment for at least two weeks to not more than 2 years and/or a fine ranging from $20 to $200. An additional $250 is charged for the assessment of the case. Convicted drivers, furthermore, face a 60-day license suspension. A subsequent second offense within three years mandates a one-year license suspension.

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Additional Resources:

• How Do I fight a Speeding ticket in Massachusetts?
• Why should I hire an attorney to fight a traffic ticket?

Getting involved in an accident is not a joke. It can be significantly life changing. Getting involved in a vehicular accident can cause tremendous panic to the one involved and may affect one’s sound decision-making capacity.  Leaving the scene of an accident without properly speaking with the other people affected is classified as an act called “hit and run”. This is extremely serious as the offensive party can be charged with criminal offense.

Penalties 

Leaving the scene of the accident varies depending on the nature and intensity of the situation. Accidents involving damage to property involves penalties ranging from $20 to $200 and jail time of 2 weeks to a maximum 2 years. It should be noted that so long as there are no serious physical injuries involved, chances are jail penalty won’t be necessary.

For cases involving Personal Injury, fines are increased up from $500 up to $1000 plus the possibility of spending 6 months to 2 years in jail.

For cases involving the death of a third party, the driver in question can face felony charges. This means that he or she may serve up to 10 years in prison and pay as much as $5000 in fines. He may also be charged with homicide.

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The Registry of Motor Vehicles provides driver license, vehicle title, and registration information as well as forms and contact information. It has the authority, in accordance with the MGL (Massachusetts General laws) and CMR (Code of Massachusetts Regulations) to suspend or revoke licenses and permits to operate motor vehicles.

Suspensions basically terminate the rights and privilege of an individual to operate vehicles. It is coterminous with the term “revocation” pertaining to licenses.

The Massachusetts General Law implements suspensions for the following offenses depending on the gravity and frequency of offense:

1. Accidents involving Death/Fatalities
2. Operating under the Influence
3. Operating Under Suspension
4. Leaving the Scene of an Accident
5. Operating to Endanger (Reckless/Negligent Operation)
6. Drag Racing

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Driving is both a privilege and a right. In order to drive, one has to have a license. Having your license
suspended or revoked causes one a major headache. Not only does it prevent you from enjoying your
rights and privileges to drive, it also makes you suffer the agony of not being able to go around or do
your regular chores using your car.

Having your license suspended can be because of so many reasons. Many traffic violations are penalized
with suspension of licenses apart from fines regulated by the Massachusetts General Laws.
However, owing to the practical inconvenience a suspended license brings, most drivers take on the risk
of driving despite having suspended licenses taking risks of getting caught. If caught, these drivers face
severe fines and punishments which only aggravate the long and expensive wait for reinstatement of
licenses and resumption of driving privileges.

What Are The Penalties?

Once caught for driving without a license, your traffic violation record is checked. First-time offenders
get a maximum of 10 days in jails plus a fine ranging from $500 to $1000 and a mandatory license
revocation for 60 days. Subsequent violations stipulate higher fines and longer jail time of up to 2.5
years under correction.

However, driving under suspended license at the same time operating under the influence (OUI) can
result in more serious penalties such as 1-year mandatory loss of license, a fine minimum of $1000 but
not exceeding $10000 and 2.5 years of jail time.

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What is JOL?
 
JOL stands for Junior Operator’s License.  A JOL is a license issued to any young would-be operator between 16.5-18 years old.  It should be noted that unlike the ordinary license, JOL holders are subjected to several extra restrictions such as the following:

• For the first 6 months, a JOL holder may not drive together with a passenger who is a minor (other than a family member) unless accompanied by someone at least 21 years old with a valid driver’s license and at least 1 year driving experience
• The said person should be seated next to the JOL holder
• A JOL holder may not operate between 12:30AM and 5:00AM unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
• A JOL holder cannot operate a motor vehicle requiring a commercial driver's license.
• Penalties for several traffic violations are much more severe

Traffic Violations involving Learner’s Permit and JOL holders
 
Given the fact that driving while being a minor is a special privilege, several restrictions are placed for violations and are most of the times accompanied with more harsh penalties than the usual. Penalties may range from temporary suspension up to revocation of licenses and permits which may only sour the entire license application process and your driving record at such a young stage in the world of driving. Below are some of the more common offenses and their penalties depending on the frequency of offense for Learner’s Permit Holders:

Furthermore, any junior operator under 18 years of age convicted of other violations will be suspended for an additional 180 days, apart from the other suspensions required by law, for first offense and 1 year for subsequent offenses. Such offenses include:

• Operating to Endanger
• Reckless/Negligent Operation
• Leaving the Scene of an Accident
• Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle

What to do?
 
Getting a driving permit at a young age brings a junior operator extreme joy. Yet this should be accompanied by a strong sense of intelligence and responsibility. In events of violation of the rules, a junior applicant or holder is subjected to more harsh penalties than the regular license holders and worse, higher fees and longer suspensions. Experienced lawyers from this firm can help you get your ticket  dismissed or reduced an and to save our clients thousands of dollars in fees and fines.

 

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