Operating under the influence and chemical tests

Key points

1. You are over the legal limit with a BAC of 0.08 or higher.

   Source: Handbook p. 73

   “You are operating above the legal limit if you have a BAC of 0.08 or higher.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 73

2. If your BAC is over the limit or you refuse a test, the officer must take your license; the suspension is effective immediately.

   Source: Handbook p. 73

   “If your BAC is above the legal limit OR if you refuse a breathalyzer or blood test, the police officer must take away your license. You will be given a notice of suspension, which is effective immediately.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 73

3. Under the Implied Consent Law, every licensed driver must agree to a breath or blood test in certain cases.

   Source: Handbook p. 72

   “Massachusetts has an Implied Consent Law. Every licensed driver in the state must agree to consent to a breathalyzer or blood test in certain cases.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 72

4. Drivers over 21 who fail a chemical test lose their license for 30 days or until the court case ends, whichever is shorter.

   Source: Handbook p. 69

   “Drivers over age 21 License is suspended for 30 days or until the conclusion of the court case, whichever is shorter.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 69

5. Alcohol causes about 30% of all U.S. highway deaths.

   Source: Handbook p. 71

   “Each year in the United States, alcohol causes about 30% of all highway deaths.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 71

6. Alcohol makes a crash 5 times more likely, and alcohol with marijuana 12 times more likely.

   Source: Handbook p. 71

   “Alchohol use makes the risk of a crash five times more likely. Alcohol use combined with marijuana use makes the risk of a crash twelve times more likely.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 71

7. One standard drink can raise an average person's BAC by 0.02.

   Source: Handbook p. 72

   “Any one of these drinks can raise an average person’s BAC by 0.02.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 72

8. Black coffee, a cold shower, exercise or eating may make you feel more alert, but none of them affect how quickly alcohol leaves your body.

   Source: Handbook p. 72

   “Drinking black coffee, taking a cold shower, exercising, or eating might make you feel more alert after drinking alcohol. However, none of these actions affect how quickly alcohol leaves your body.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 72

9. If you must use an ignition interlock device, you must keep using it for 2 more years after your license is reinstated.

   Source: Handbook p. 73

   “You must keep using the device for two more years after your license has been reinstated.”
   Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Handbook p. 73

Numbers to know

3 questions from the Massachusetts practice test

1. 1. A Massachusetts police officer stops a driver whose BAC is above the legal limit, or who refuses a breathalyzer or blood test. What must the officer do with the license?

   1. Take the license away
   2. Hold it for 24 hours only
   3. Issue a warning and return it
   4. Mail it to the RMV for review
   Show answer

   Take the license away. Massachusetts pairs the breath test with an immediate consequence. When the result is above the legal limit, or when the driver refuses a breathalyzer or blood test, the police officer must take away the license, and the driver is given a notice of suspension that is effective immediately. The law does not let the officer issue a warning and hand the card back, hold it for only 24 hours, or mail it to the RMV for a later decision. How long the suspension lasts is set by the manual's charts, which depend on age and prior offenses.

2. 2. When a Massachusetts officer takes a driver's license for a BAC above the limit or a test refusal, when does the notice of suspension take effect?

   1. After a hearing is held
   2. 30 days after the arrest
   3. Only after a court conviction
   4. Immediately
   Show answer

   Immediately. The suspension paperwork handed over at the roadside is not a warning of something to come; the notice of suspension is effective immediately. The driver cannot legally drive away from the stop. No hearing precedes it, there is no 30 day grace period, and it does not wait for a conviction. The suspension periods themselves are set out in charts in the manual and depend on age, prior offenses and whether the driver failed or refused the test.

3. 3. A Massachusetts driver over 21 fails a chemical test at 0.08 or higher. How long is the administrative license suspension?

   1. One year
   2. 30 days or until the court case ends, whichever is shorter
   3. 180 days
   4. Three years
   Show answer

   30 days or until the court case ends, whichever is shorter. For drivers over 21 who fail a chemical test, the license is suspended for 30 days or until the court case ends, whichever is shorter. If the court then finds the driver guilty, the court's sanctions follow. One year and 180 days are the added youth suspensions for drivers under 18 and 18 to 21, and three years is a refusal figure for drivers with a prior OUI. The suspension ends early if the case is concluded within the 30 days.

Source: the Massachusetts Driver's Manual, Chapter 3: Keeping Your License. This lesson is a plain English summary, not the law itself; where it differs, the manual and the statute govern. Last checked 2026-09-27.