Massachusetts roads are the safest among all 50 states in terms of road fatalities (only the District of Columbia is safer). Nevertheless, the state has seen an uptick in distracted driving accidents since the use of electronic devices became prevalent a number of years ago. The state’s distracted driving laws are designed to remedy this problem.
Distracted Driving Restrictions
In Massachusetts, texting while driving, including reading text messages, is forbidden for all drivers. On-duty bus drivers and novice drivers (on learner’s or intermediate licenses or under 18) cannot use any type of cell phone, even a hands-free model, while driving. An exception exists for reporting an emergency, and drivers may text and use cell phones freely on the shoulder of the road (but not while stopped in traffic). Local governments such as cities and counties may enact their own distracted driving ordinances.
Penalties
Penalties for cell phone use by novice drivers are rather severe in Massachusetts. The penalties for a first offense are a $100 fine, a 60-day license suspension and an “attitudinal course”. For a second offense the fine is $250 and a 180-day driver’s license suspension. For a third offense, the fine is $500 and a one-year driver’s license suspension. A separate set of penalties applies to bus drivers, who can be fined up to $500. The fines for texting while driving are $100, $250 and $500 for first, second and subsequent offenses, respectively.
In the Event of an Accident
A distracted driving citation will be the least of your worries if you are involved in an accident while engaged in this behavior. Distracted driving will make it easier for the other driver (or anyone else who is injured or suffers property damage because of the accident) to blame you for the accident.
If you are sued over the accident, however, you are not automatically liable even if the other party proves that you were violating the distracted driving statute at the time of the accident – you will have the opportunity to try to establish that under the circumstances your action did not constitute negligence even though it was illegal, or that your action (such as texting) did not actually cause the accident.
If you are the one filing the lawsuit, the defendant can use your distracted driving to show that you were partially at fault. If the court decides that you were 10 percent at fault, for example, you will win the lawsuit but you will lose 10 percent of your damages. If the court decides that you were at least 51 percent at fault, you will lose the case entirely, and you might even face a lawsuit from the defendant.
Possible Criminal Penalties
If the circumstances of a distracted driving accident are serious enough, it is possible for you to be charged with a criminal offense, including homicide if someone was killed in the accident. In fact, in 2012 one texting driver was convicted of motor vehicle homicide and sentenced to two years in prison after his car crossed the center line and killed another driver.
– Updated through September 1, 2016