7 Things Massachusetts Drivers Can Get Ticketed for That Feel Completely Legal
A green light doesn’t always mean go in Massachusetts, and state law says so.
It’s not the only mind-boggling rule like that.
These are the things Massachusetts drivers can get ticketed for that feel completely legal to many.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Traffic rules and fines are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.
1. Headlights in the Rain
Dark headlights can draw a ticket on a gray afternoon, long before sunset.
State law requires your headlights and taillights whenever you need your windshield wipers.
The same rule kicks in when low light or bad weather keeps you from clearly seeing people or vehicles 500 feet away.
Wipers on means headlights on.
A lights violation is a civil infraction, and the state’s table of citable offenses lists its assessment at $5.
A lights violation doesn’t count as a moving violation when insurers set surcharges.
2. Holding Your Phone at a Red Light
A phone ticket doesn’t wait for you to start moving.
The hands-free law doesn’t allow handheld use at red lights or stop signs.
The statute only excuses a vehicle that’s stationary and outside the part of the road meant for traffic, so your lane at a red light doesn’t qualify.
Stopped traffic is still traffic.
Reporting an emergency, such as an accident or a need for medical help, is a defense under the law.
A first offense costs $100, and a second brings $250 plus a mandatory distracted-driving program.
A third costs $500 and adds an insurance surcharge.
What the Hands-Free Law Allows Drivers
The hands-free law lets drivers use navigation on a device that’s mounted to the windshield, dashboard, or center console.
If you’re 18 or older, you may touch your device only to turn on hands-free mode.
If you’re under 18, you can’t use a device at all, even hands-free.
A headphone in one ear is allowed.
Voice-to-text works only when the device is mounted.
3. Passing a Stopped Tow Truck
Move-over tickets aren’t limited to police cruisers.
The move-over law covers fire trucks, ambulances, and police vehicles, plus highway maintenance vehicles and recovery vehicles built to tow a disabled car.
Tow trucks count.
When one of these vehicles is stopped with its lights flashing, you slow to a speed that’s reasonable and safe.
You also change lanes away from it when that’s practical on a road with at least four lanes, two of them going your way.
A violation can cost you a fine of up to $100.
If you can’t change lanes, you still slow down.
4. Idling Past Five Minutes
You can get an idling ticket while sitting in a parked car with the heater running.
The idling limit bars you from running the engine of a stopped vehicle unnecessarily when you expect the stop to last more than five minutes.
The exceptions cover repairs, deliveries, and engines that power other equipment, and warming up your car isn’t one of them.
The fine is up to $100 for a first offense and up to $500 for each offense after that.
Idling on school property has a separate entry in the table of citable offenses, with a $500 assessment for a second offense.
Five minutes goes fast.
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5. Staying in the Left Lane
Settling into the left lane can get you a ticket.
The keep-right law has you drive in the lane nearest the right side of the road whenever that lane is available for travel.
You can leave it to pass another vehicle or to get ready for a left turn.
Passing is what the left lane is for.
The citable-offenses table lists failing to drive in the right lane and a breakdown lane violation at $100 each.
Where the right lane is built or marked for something other than regular travel, such as the shoulder, you use the next lane over unless the state has posted signs allowing it.
The sign decides.
6. Passing a Car Stopped for a Pedestrian
Going around a car stopped near a crosswalk can get you ticketed, even with an open lane ahead.
The crosswalk law says no driver may pass another vehicle that has stopped at a marked crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross.
It also bars you from entering a marked crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing.
The car beside you may be hiding someone you can't see yet.
The table lists passing a stopped vehicle at a crosswalk at $200, which is the most the law allows.
Wait behind it.
7. Blocking the Intersection
A blocking-the-intersection ticket can follow you through a green light.
The law says you can't enter an intersection you're unable to get through, and a green light is no defense.
If the cars ahead leave you no room on the far side, you stay out of the intersection.
That means you wait.
The same table sets the first-offense assessment at $100, though the fine can reach $150 for each offense.
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