8.3 Alcohol, BAC, Drugs, Ignition Interlock, Under-21 Laws & License Nonrenewal

"You cannot drive safely after drinking alcohol or taking other drugs." The Manual says it plainly. Alcohol causes about 30 percent of all U.S. highway deaths, not counting the many people left seriously injured or permanently disabled.

How Alcohol Affects Driving

Alcohol is a depressant, whether it comes as beer, wine or liquor. It:

• slows reflexes and increases reaction time;
• distorts vision and judgment;
• makes drivers overconfident, so they take chances;
• makes drivers less likely to wear a belt, more likely to speed and less able to stay in their lane.

The Manual's risk figures: alcohol makes a crash five times more likely, and alcohol combined with marijuana makes it twelve times more likely. Even one drink in an hour can affect driving, and the effect is worse when you are tired, upset or haven't eaten.

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC)

Your body processes alcohol through the liver and kidneys, and that takes time. Black coffee, a cold shower, exercise or food may make you feel more alert, but none of them speeds up the removal of alcohol. Only time works.

BAC depends on:

• body weight;
• how much you drank;
• how much food you ate beforehand;
• how long you have been drinking;
• how fast your body processes alcohol (it varies from person to person).

Standard drinks

The type of drink doesn't matter; the amount of alcohol does. Each of these has about half an ounce of alcohol (National Institutes of Health):

Any one of these can raise an average person's BAC by 0.02. More than one drink an hour makes BAC rise.

The Manual's advice for anyone who has been drinking: appoint a designated driver, take a taxi, use a rideshare app, or call a friend or family member.

Implied Consent and the Limits

Massachusetts has an Implied Consent Law: every licensed driver agrees to a breath or blood test in certain cases. An officer who believes you are OUI may ask you to:

• perform a field sobriety test;
• take a breath or blood test to measure BAC, if you have been arrested.

If your BAC is over the limit or you refuse, the officer must take your license, and the suspension notice takes effect immediately (section 8.2). Drivers under 21 are twice as likely to be in alcohol-related crashes, which is one reason the youth laws are stricter.

Ignition Interlock Devices (IID)

Restriction code T on a license means ignition interlock (section 2.2).

Under-21 Alcohol Laws

If you are under 21 it is illegal to:

• buy alcohol or have someone buy it for you;
• possess, carry or transport alcohol unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Either offense brings a 90-day to one-year suspension, plus fines. Buying or trying to buy alcohol brings a 180-day suspension.

Open container law

You may not drink alcohol while driving or have an open alcoholic drink in the vehicle, even if someone else is holding it. The fine is $100 to $500. A driver under 21 is arrested, fined and suspended. An open-container conviction is also a s. 24P offense for Junior Operators (section 8.1).

False or altered IDs

It is illegal to use a false license or ID, alter one, use someone else's, or give false information to get one. Most of these are felonies, and the penalties apply even if you don't try to buy alcohol. Under M.G.L. c. 90, s. 22(e) the RMV may suspend for up to six months without a conviction, and for one year after a conviction. Buying fake IDs online is dangerous and often leads to identity theft.

Marijuana and Other Drugs

OUI laws apply to drugs as well as alcohol. Illegal drugs, prescription medicines and over-the-counter medicines can all impair driving, and you can be charged with OUI on prescription drugs.

• Marijuana makes it harder to respond to sights and sounds and to handle a quick series of tasks. Its most serious danger is an unexpected event, such as a car from a side street or a child between parked cars. It also causes a bad loss of night vision. Possession has been partly decriminalized, but operating under its influence remains a crime, and the OUI penalty chart still applies to marijuana.
• Hard drugs such as LSD, heroin and opium make users feel unaware and uncaring.
• Sedatives and tranquilizers, and most cold, hay fever and headache medicines, cause drowsiness. Painkillers and codeine can be very dangerous.
• Stimulants (pep pills, speed, cocaine, diet pills) give brief alertness, followed by fatigue, nervousness, dizziness and poor concentration, and can affect vision.
• Inhaling solvents or glue vapors can leave you unable to drive.

Combining alcohol and other drugs dramatically increases the effects. Read medicine labels, and ask a doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure.

Reasons for License Nonrenewal

The RMV will not renew a license if you have:

• unpaid parking fines;
• citations for abandoned vehicles;
• unpaid local excise tax;
• outstanding court warrants;
• unpaid Massachusetts, Maine or New Hampshire E-ZPass/Fast Lane toll violations;
• unpaid Tobin Bridge violations.

You must bring official release forms showing that the fines and taxes are paid. For a warrant, only a recall notice from the court is accepted. A suspended or revoked license cannot be renewed at all.