Pursuant to G.L. c. 175, § 113B, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles will automatically suspend your license or right to drive in Massachusetts for a period of 60 days for seven “at-fault” motor vehicle accidents or convictions of moving violations of motor vehicle laws during any rolling three (3) year period. The Mass. RMV will not consider you for a hardship license for a 7 surchargeable events suspension. However, the Board of Appeal hears these cases and may grant relief in the form of a 12 hour hardship license or a full license reinstatement. Also, there may be other ways to fight your 7 surchargeable events suspension. I have been fairly successful in challenging these 60 day license suspensions by getting them terminated and, in some cases, preventing them from going into effect.
Prior to suspending your driver’s license for 7 surchargeable events, the Registry is required to send you a letter advising you of the pending suspension and listing the surchargeable events upon which the suspension is based. The 7 surchargeable events which comprise the suspension must have been incurred within a 3 year period. When making this determination, it is not the incident date but the finding date which is used.
Multiple automobile law violations committed in a single incident will be counted separately. This means if you are cited for more than one surchargeable event on a single ticket, each event will count against you and the Registry will not treat them as one, even though the violations were committed at the same time.
Not all violations will generate these suspensions. Under the law, only “moving violations” are to be counted. Nevertheless, the Registry counts equipment, registration, and many other non-moving violations towards these license suspensions.
In addition to imposing 60 day license suspensions for 7 surchargeable events, the Registry will impose license suspension for 3 surchargeable events, which can be prevented from going into effect by taking the 8 hour National Safety Council Driver Re-Training Class. Unfortunately, taking the class will not prevent a 7 surchargeable events suspension from going into effect.
Related Articles
- Out of Massachusetts State Violations
- Do I Need a Hardship License Lawyer?
- Drug Related License Suspension
- RMV Hearing Procedures
- Habitual Traffic Offender Revocations
- What ‘Hardship’ Required to Get a License
- CDL Suspensions
- License Fraud Suspensions
- Immediate Threat Suspensions
- Leaving the Scene of an Accident
- The Work Letter Requirement
- JOL Suspensions