Massachusetts Driving Laws

Big news at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles

There are some big changes at the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, the outgoing Registrar, Anne Collins, has been given a senior position in the Executive Office of Transportation by Deval Patrick.  She will be replaced by Rachel Kaprielian, a Democrat from Watertown. 

It is well known that Anne Collins took her job seriously, and thus made it difficult for Massachusetts Drivers to get hardship licenses and remove suspensions.  She can say that she helped make the roads safer by enforcing legislation.  She did a wonderful job.  She is very smart and successful.  The new Registrar has dedicated her life to public service and it will be interesting to see what if any changes take place at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Here are some recent news articles annoucing the change:

Krapielian named motor vehicle registrar, The Boston Globe, May 21, 2008

New RMV boss' hubby has drunk-drive history, The Boston Herald, May 22, 2008

BREAKING: State Rep. Rachel Krapielian has been tapped to be the registrar of motor vehicles, Wicked Local, May 21, 2008

If you have a problem with the Registry of Motor Vehicles (i.e. a license suspension, immediate threat or hardship) please contact me for a consultation at 617-328-6900 or email me at jfoley@sullivanandsweeney.com.  At Sullivan & Sweeney, LLP we have the experience, reputation and expertise to assist you.

Drunk Report, publishing names of people charged with drunk driving...what's the purpose?

If someone is going to get into a car, after going to party of having dinner with friends...is worrying that if they get pulled over and charged with drunk driving going to make them think twice?

First of all, just because someone is charged with operating under the influence - it does not mean they actually are, sometimes they are not paying attention and swerve - and get stopped.  Sometimes a plate light is out and they get stopped.  There are also many medical reasons why a person could appear to be drunk driving.

Second, I am not convinced that seeing a name in the police report does anything more than embarrass the person who is simply charged with an offense.

One thing that publishing reports of drunk drivers, whether they are found guilty or simply charged, is to make the District Attorneys and Judiciary very nervous about using their discretion to reduce a charge.  I'm not talking about someone who has been charged with a third offense drunk driving and had two previous offenses in the past few years, I'm talking about the lifetime look-back of Melanie's Law.  This means if you are charged with drunk driving now, and you have a conviction or a cwof (continuation without a finding) in 1977, and the prosecutor has a copy of the conviction, you are technically not eligible for a first offenders program.  Now, there are certainly more factors that are considered in deciding on whether or not someone is eligible for a first offenders disposition, such as whether or not they completed a program the first time they were found guilty or admitted to sufficient facts.

The Patriot Ledger has a column, that it runs regularly, called The Drunken Driving Record, where names of people charged with a second offense or higher of drunk driving are published in the local paper.  I am curious to find out if it acts as a deterrent or simply puts extra pressure on prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys and the judiciary.

If you have been charged with drunk driving (operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor) contact me at 617-328-6900 or email me at jfoley@sullivanandsweeney.com to set up a consultation.  At Sullivan & Sweeney, LLP we have the experience and expertise to handle your case.

More backlash against elderly drivers

Elderly drivers are currently getting very bad press.  There was an opinion in the Patriot Ledger today by Lauren Munger of South Weymouth, asking families to be held accountable for assessing the driving ability of elderly drivers in their families.

Certainly, there are some drivers who shouldn't be on the road for a variety of reasons.  I would venture to say that most of the reasons that someone shouldn't be operating a motor vehicle have nothing to do with age. 

Changes in medication, vision changes, cataracts, license suspensions, undiagnosed medical conditions, repeated driving offenses and moving violations are all reasons why someone might lose their license from the RMV.  Many of the reasons are correctable over time, medications can be changed or monitored, vision can be monitored and prescriptions changed, or someone can go and see their doctor to get a diagnosis.  If someone can't drive for legal reasons, they can appeal to the Registry of Motor Vehicles with an attorney and either get their license back, or get a hardship license.  Usually, if your license is suspended for legal reasons you can get it back sooner or later (but not always).

There are people of every age who get into car accidents, and people of any age who should not be driving for medical reasons.  There are certainly circumstances where people should not be driving, but it should be for a good cause and not at the whim of an irate police officer or a nervous relative. 

Recently, I was in Brockton District Court on a matter, and was witness to one of the saddest and most depressing pleas and sentencing I had ever seen.  Jane Berghold plead guilty to two counts of negligent motor vehicle homicide and one count of serious bodily injury.  It was a tragedy, but I do not think that every single driver over a certain age should be punished for a mistake.  There are young 80 year olds and old 35 year olds.   

Driving laws and celebrities.

I have a blog about Massachusetts Driving Law (as you know if you are reading this), and it is not very often that there are celebrities involved in driving related issues in Massachusetts. 

This past week in Gloucester, Massachusetts Sandra Bullock and Jesse James were involved in a car accident with an alleged drunk driver.  Sandra and Jesse are at the other end of the celebrity drunk driving spectrum, they are allegedly victims of a drunk driver. Luckily no one was injured in the accident. 

Boston.com reported on April 20, 2008 that Lucile Gatchell of Gloucester, swerved and hit the vehicle that was carrying Sandra Bullock and her husband.  According to Matt Viser, of the Boston Globe, Ms. Gatchell took a breathalyzer, and it came back a .20 (.08 is the per se legal limit in Massachusetts), she also was overheard stating "My first drunk driving incident and I hit Sandra Bullock."

According to the reports, Ms. Gatchell has no prior history of drunk driving, therefore she will be eligible for the first offenders program. Ms. Gatchell made a few mistakes (in my opinion) after the accident, first she took a breathalyzer, and second, she made a statement "My first drunk driving accident." Of course I do not have all of the details, and there may be some suppression issues so the statements and/or the breathlyzer may not be admitted as evidence in court in the event that there is a trial.  Perhaps she can try the "I was in shock because I hit a famous person", defense. 

Check out Boston Channel for a video of the arraignment.  Also for more stories related to the accident you can check out:

Driver charged in crash with actor, by Matt Viser, Globe Staff

Bullock crash draws worldwide attention, by Richard Gaines, Gloucester Daily Times

There are some great celebrity blogs, that regularly report on celebrities, one I like (because it combines celebrities and drunk driving) is Popsquire. 

On the Road with Jeff - A Driving Blog

I realized something on Friday, I need to look around the web for more informational sources for Massachusetts Drivers.  I got a call on Friday morning from Jeff Larson, WCVB Channel Five's Traffic Reporter, it seems that my blog was mentioned on Universal Hub. 

Of course, I then took a look at his blog, On the Road with Jeff.   It is very informative and has a lot of up to date information on local issues related to driving.  I highly recommend that you check it out, as he has compiled a lot of interesting information that relates to Massachusetts Drivers.

He also has tips on how to be a better driver, Jeff Larson's Driving School, which has great practical tips for everyone who is a driver (Massachusetts or otherwise).  He is very concerned about driver safety, and from a legal perspective, if you pay attention to safety issues that he highlights, the chances of you getting stopped for a driving infraction will most likely decrease.

I always found SMARTRAVELER, to be extremely helpful (especially if I am running late), and it is nice to know that he also genuinely cares about the safety of Massachusetts Drivers.