Pursuant to G.L. c. 90, § 22(a), the Mass. Registry has the ability to indefinitely revoke your driver’s license upon a report from police indicating that allowing you to continue to hold a license would constitute an immediate threat to public safety or that you are unable to safely operate a motor vehicle due to a physical or mental problem. When the Registry revokes a license under the immediate threat law, the license will remain indefinitely revoked until the driver proves, to the Registry’s satisfaction, that the driver no longer represents a danger to public safety and he or she is able to operate safely.
In situations involving immediate threat medical revocations, the driver must present medical evidence showing that he or she is safe to operate. At minimum, the Registry requires that a physician completes medical clearance paperwork which may include psychiatric, medical, vision, and loss of consciousness clearance forms.
Indefinite immediate threat suspensions and revocations are not punitive, which means that they are not intended as punishment for bad or dangerous driving. Instead, the purpose of these suspensions is to protect the public by removing an allegedly dangerous driver from the roadway until the Registrar of Motor Vehicles is satisfied that the driver does not present a danger to public safety.
Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way to get a hardship license when your right to operate has been indefinitely suspended or revoked under the Massachusetts Immediate Threat law. Since the law is not punitive, getting hardship, limited, restricted, work, or Cinderella license in this situation is impossible. The rationale for refusing to grant any type of license is that a driver who represents a danger to the public will be a danger even with a part-time driver’s license.
If you need assistance with an immediate threat suspension in Massachusetts, feel free to contact me to discuss how I can help you resolve the suspension and reinstate your driver’s license, as I have done in a large number of cases.
