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MA · STUDY GUIDE

Penalties, Alcohol & Drug Laws

OUI limits and penalties, implied consent, suspensions, and violations — the questions test-takers miss most. All 23 questions below cite the MA Driver's Manual section they come from.

Rules of the RoadRoad Signs, Signals & MarkingsJunior Operator Law & Licensing

1 · OUI LAWS

For drivers under 21, Massachusetts' blood-alcohol limit is:

  • · 0.08%
  • · 0.05%
  • ✓ 0.02%
  • · 0.00% — any measurable amount

MA is zero-tolerance for under-21 drivers: 0.02% or higher triggers license suspension.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Under-21 Alcohol Offenses, p. 73

2 · HANDS-FREE LAW

Under the hands-free law, a driver 18 or older may use a cell phone:

  • ✓ Only in hands-free mode — touching it just once to activate that mode
  • · Freely, as long as one hand stays on the wheel
  • · For calls but not for texts
  • · For GPS, if held below window level

Drivers 18+ may only use devices in hands-free mode: not held, not supported by your body, touched only to activate hands-free, and mounted somewhere that doesn't interfere with driving.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 2 · Hands-Free Mobile Phone Use, p. 39

3 · HANDS-FREE LAW

A driver under 18 may use a mobile phone while driving:

  • ✓ Only to report an emergency
  • · In hands-free mode only
  • · Only with a passenger's help
  • · For navigation apps only

Under 18: no mobile device use at all while driving — not even hands-free. The only exception is reporting an emergency.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 2 · Drivers Under 18, p. 40

4 · HANDS-FREE LAW

The fine for a FIRST hands-free law violation is:

  • · $35
  • ✓ $100
  • · $500
  • · $250

1st offense: $100. 2nd: $250 plus a mandatory distracted-driving program. 3rd and beyond: $500 plus an insurance surcharge and the program.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 2 · Penalties, p. 40

5 · HANDS-FREE LAW

Using a handheld phone while stopped at a red light is:

  • ✓ Not allowed — you must be stationary AND out of the travel lane
  • · Allowed, since the vehicle isn't moving
  • · Allowed for up to 10 seconds
  • · Allowed if the stop lasts more than 30 seconds

Handheld use is only legal when the vehicle is stationary and NOT in a public travel lane. Red lights and stop signs don't count — and don't stop on the side of a busy road to use the phone either.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 2 · Hands-Free Mobile Phone Use, p. 39

6 · VIOLATIONS

A Massachusetts speeding fine is $105 for the first 10 mph over the limit, plus:

  • ✓ $10 for each additional mph
  • · $5 for each additional mph
  • · A flat $50 regardless of speed
  • · $25 for each additional mph

The manual's example: 73 mph in a 55 zone = $105 for the first 10 mph over, plus 8 × $10 = $80, totaling $185. Every speeding fine also includes a $50 surcharge for the Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Speeding Violations, p. 57

7 · VIOLATIONS

If you are caught speeding in a posted work zone, the fine is:

  • ✓ Doubled
  • · Tripled
  • · The same as anywhere else
  • · Increased by a flat $50

Speeding fines are doubled in posted work zones. Slow down when you see the orange signs — workers are on foot near live traffic.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Work Zones, p. 57

8 · SUSPENSIONS

For a driver 18 or older, three speeding violations within a 12-month period means the license is:

  • ✓ Automatically suspended for 30 days
  • · Flagged, but nothing happens automatically
  • · Suspended for one year
  • · Suspended for 90 days

Three speeding tickets in 12 months = automatic 30-day suspension (plus a $100 reinstatement fee). For Junior Operators the stakes are far higher: 90 days on the FIRST citation.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Surchargeable Events, p. 59

9 · VIOLATIONS

After receiving a civil traffic citation, you must pay it or request a hearing within:

  • ✓ 20 days
  • · 60 days
  • · 6 months
  • · 10 days

You have 20 days to pay the fine or request a hearing. Ignore it and you're found responsible, charged a late fee, and your license gets suspended for non-payment.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Civil Motor Vehicle Infractions, p. 56

10 · SUSPENSIONS

Three surchargeable events within two years means you must:

  • ✓ Complete a Driver Retraining course within 90 days, or be suspended until you do
  • · Surrender your license immediately
  • · Pay a $500 fine, nothing more
  • · Retake the learner's permit exam

Three surchargeable events (moving violations or at-fault crashes) in two years triggers the mandatory Driver Retraining course — skip it and the license is suspended indefinitely until you complete it.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Driver Retraining Course, p. 59

11 · SUSPENSIONS

A Habitual Traffic Offender (3 major violations in 5 years) loses their license for:

  • ✓ Four years
  • · One year
  • · Six months
  • · Two years

Three major moving violations — or any combination of twelve major or minor ones — within five years makes you a Habitual Traffic Offender: four-year suspension, $500 to reinstate.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Mandatory Suspensions Chart, p. 62

12 · OUI LAWS

A FIRST OUI conviction can bring:

  • ✓ Up to a $5,000 fine, up to 2.5 years in prison, and a 1-year license loss
  • · Only a fine — never jail for a first offense
  • · A 30-day license suspension and nothing else
  • · A $500 maximum fine and no possibility of jail

First offense: $500–$5,000 fine, up to 2.5 years in prison, and a one-year license suspension. A fifth offense means a lifetime loss. The same chart applies to drugs, including marijuana.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Penalties for OUI Chart, p. 68

13 · OUI LAWS

Massachusetts' Implied Consent Law means refusing a breathalyzer (over 21, no prior OUI) costs your license for:

  • ✓ 180 days
  • · 30 days
  • · Nothing, if you're found not guilty
  • · 90 days

Every licensed driver has already agreed to chemical testing. Refuse with no prior OUIs (over 21): 180-day suspension — effective immediately, regardless of how the court case ends. With prior offenses it climbs to years or lifetime.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Refusing a Chemical Test, p. 70

14 · OUI LAWS

A driver over 21 who FAILS a breathalyzer (BAC 0.08+) is immediately suspended for:

  • ✓ 30 days, or until the court case concludes — whichever is shorter
  • · One year, no exceptions
  • · Nothing until conviction
  • · 60 days regardless of the court case

Failing the test triggers an immediate 30-day suspension (or until the case concludes, if shorter) — separate from whatever the court later orders. Drivers 18–21 get an extra 180 days; under 18, an extra year.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Failed Chemical Tests, p. 69

15 · OUI LAWS

Which drink contains the MOST alcohol?

  • ✓ They're all about equal — 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine, 1.5 oz of 80-proof liquor
  • · The liquor, by far
  • · The wine
  • · The beer — it has the most liquid

Each contains about the same half-ounce of alcohol, and any one can raise an average person's BAC by about 0.02. The kind of drink doesn't matter — the amount over time does.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Blood Alcohol Content, p. 72

16 · OUI LAWS

The only thing that actually removes alcohol from your body is:

  • ✓ Time
  • · Black coffee
  • · A cold shower and exercise

Coffee, showers, exercise, and food may make you feel more alert — none of them speed up how your liver processes alcohol. Only time does.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Blood Alcohol Content, p. 72

17 · OUI LAWS

Your passenger holds an open beer while you drive. This is:

  • ✓ Illegal — no open alcohol in the vehicle, no matter who holds it
  • · Legal, as long as the driver isn't drinking
  • · Legal in the back seat only
  • · Illegal only if the container is more than half full

No open alcoholic containers in the vehicle, period — even in someone else's hands. Conviction: $100–$500 fine; under 21, you'll also be arrested and suspended.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Open Container Law, p. 74

18 · OUI LAWS

A driver under 21 who buys — or even tries to buy — alcohol loses their license for:

  • ✓ 180 days
  • · 30 days
  • · Only if convicted in court
  • · 90 days

Under 21: buying or attempting to buy alcohol = 180-day suspension. Possessing or transporting it without a parent or guardian also brings 90 days to a year.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Buying or Transporting Alcohol, p. 74

19 · OUI LAWS

Since Massachusetts decriminalized aspects of marijuana, driving under its influence is:

  • ✓ Still a criminal offense with the same OUI penalties as alcohol
  • · A civil fine only
  • · Legal for medical card holders
  • · Legal if it was bought at a licensed dispensary

Operating under the influence of marijuana remains a criminal offense — the full OUI penalty chart applies. It also slows reaction to surprises and ruins night vision.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Marijuana, p. 75

20 · OUI LAWS

Driving while impaired by a PRESCRIPTION medicine is:

  • ✓ Grounds for an OUI — it's illegal to drive impaired by ANY substance
  • · Legal with a valid prescription
  • · Legal if a doctor didn't warn you
  • · Legal if you follow the dosage on the label

You can be charged with OUI on prescription drugs. Sedatives, cold medicines, and codeine painkillers can all impair you — read labels and ask your pharmacist.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Other Drugs, p. 75

21 · VIOLATIONS

Driving while your license is suspended is:

  • ✓ A criminal motor vehicle violation — possible jail plus a longer suspension
  • · A civil infraction with a fine
  • · Allowed for driving to work only
  • · Legal for emergencies only

Driving on a suspended or revoked license is a criminal offense: large fines, possible jail, and an additional 60-day-to-one-year suspension on top of the original.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Driving With a Suspended License, p. 67

22 · VIOLATIONS

A speeding ticket you get in another state:

  • ✓ Counts on your MA record as if it happened in Massachusetts
  • · Only matters in that state
  • · Is erased when you cross the state line
  • · Adds insurance points but never suspension

Out-of-state violations hit your Massachusetts record like local ones, and ignoring one leads to suspension here until you resolve it (plus a reinstatement fee of at least $100).

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Out-of-State Violations, p. 58

23 · OUI LAWS

After two or more OUI convictions, a driver seeking license reinstatement must:

  • ✓ Install an Ignition Interlock Device at their own expense — and keep it 2 years after reinstatement
  • · Simply pay a higher reinstatement fee
  • · Wait an extra 30 days
  • · Retake the road test every year

Two or more OUI offenses = mandatory Ignition Interlock Device, at your expense, for the entire hardship-license period plus two more years after full reinstatement.

📖 MA Manual · Ch. 3 · Ignition Interlock Devices, p. 73
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