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. Adult drivers who fail a test lose their license for 30 days or until the case ends, whichever is shorter.

   Source: Handbook p. 69

   “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. Only time removes alcohol; coffee, cold showers and exercise do not.

   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. An ignition interlock device must stay in use 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, on the spot consequence. When the result is over the legal limit, or when the driver refuses a breath or blood test, the officer is required to take the license then and there. A warning is not among the options, a 24 hour hold is not how the law is written, and the officer does not simply forward the card for later review. The suspension that follows a refusal is separate from, and added to, any court penalty for the OUI charge itself.

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 under 18 commits a driving offense in which alcohol or drugs were involved. What license suspension applies in addition to any court penalty?

   1. 60 days
   2. 180 days
   3. 30 days
   4. One year
   Show answer

   One year. For the youngest drivers Massachusetts adds a full year of suspension when alcohol or drugs are part of a driving offense, on top of whatever the court orders. The 180 day figure belongs to drivers who are 18 to 21 in the same situation. Thirty and sixty day suspensions exist in the manual for other reasons, such as repeated speeding or surchargeable events, but not for this one. The rule is meant to keep teens who mix substances and driving off the road for a long stretch, and it runs regardless of how the criminal case ends.

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.