New Law to Detect Suspended Drivers - The Law Office of Brian Simoneau, P.C.

There’s now another reason to apply for a hardship license instead of running the risk of being arrested for operating after suspension in Massachusetts.

Shortly before leaving office, Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill which will require the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles to notify the local police whenever a so-called “dangerous driver” in their community has his or her license taken away. The purpose of this new law is to notify the police of the loss of driving privileges, so that they will be aware of suspended drivers in their cities or towns.

Under this new law, if your license has been suspended or revoked for DUI, being an immediate threat, habitual traffic offender or other specified reason, your local police department will be alerted and if you are seen driving, you can be arrested and criminally charged. There is mandatory jail time associated with some operating after suspension convictions and, if you are convicted, you will lose your license for an even longer period of time.

The police have other tools at their disposal to detect drivers who have lost their licenses. These tools include Automatic License Plate Recognition and cruiser laptops which allow police to check your license status without you even knowing it. In 2013, state and local police issued at total of 62,000 citations for people driving while unlicensed or suspended in Massachusetts. With this new law, those numbers are likely to increase.

The basis for the new law is the death of a 20 year old Sharon woman who was struck and killed by a driver whose license had recently been suspended.

Instead of risking arrest and prosecution, if you have a valid reason to drive, you can be considered for a hardship license by appearing before either the Registry or Division of Insurance Board of Appeal. Both of these agencies have the ability to consider you for a 12 hour license if you satisfy the requirements. This is a much better option than risking jail by driving while your right to operate is under suspension or revocation.