Rules of the Road -3 +2Massachusetts · Driving · English

Massachusetts law requires all drivers to stop for a school bus or school pupil transport vehicle that has its red lights flashing and a stop sign extended. This rule applies to traffic moving in both directions. The only exception is when the school bus is on the other side of a divided highway with a physical barrier in between. You must remain stopped until the lights stop flashing and the sign is retracted. A first offense for failing to stop carries significant penalties.

• ✓You must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign, regardless of your direction of travel.
• ✓The penalty for a first violation of the school bus stop law is a license suspension and a $250 fine.
• ✓You do not have to stop for a school bus if it is on the opposite side of a divided highway with a barrier between travel directions.

Road construction and maintenance areas, often marked by orange warning signs, require extra caution due to the presence of workers and changing road conditions. To ensure worker safety, Massachusetts law enforces stricter penalties for speeding in these areas. If you are cited for speeding in a designated 'work area', the fine is doubled.

• ✓The fine for speeding in a posted 'work area' is doubled.
• ✓Orange warning signs typically indicate a road work zone where you must slow down and be alert for workers on foot.
• ✓In a work zone, you must follow posted signs carefully and be prepared for sudden stops or changes in road direction.

When parking your vehicle, you must follow specific state laws to ensure safety and traffic flow. Your vehicle cannot obstruct traffic, which means you must leave a minimum amount of clear roadway for other vehicles to pass. You must also park close to the curb.

• ✓When parked, your vehicle must be no more than 12 inches from the curb.
• ✓You must always leave at least a 12-foot wide, clear roadway for traffic to pass your parked vehicle.
• ✓When leaving a parked vehicle, state law requires you to stop the motor, set the parking brake, lock the ignition, and remove the key.

To prevent your vehicle from rolling into traffic if the brakes fail, you must turn your front wheels in the correct direction when parking on a hill. The direction depends on whether there is a curb and if you are facing uphill or downhill.

• ✓When parking uphill against a curb, turn your front wheels outward, toward the travel lane.
• ✓When parking downhill against a curb, turn your front wheels inward, toward the curb.
• ✓When parking on a hill with no curb (either direction), turn your front wheels inward, toward the edge of the road.

Parking is illegal in many designated areas to ensure public safety and access. These include areas near intersections, fire hydrants, crosswalks, and bus stops. Violations in these zones, especially those reserved for public transport or persons with disabilities, carry significant fines.

• ✓You may not park within 20 feet of an intersection.
• ✓You may not park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
• ✓Parking in a posted bus stop results in a $100 fine, while illegally parking in a disabled person (HP-DV) space is a $300 fine for a first offense.

Aggressive driving includes actions like speeding, tailgating, and cutting others off. When confronted by an aggressive driver, your priority is safety. You should not engage or challenge the driver. Instead, try to move out of their way, avoid eye contact, and ignore them. If the situation feels like an emergency, report it to the State Police by calling 911. The RMV has the authority to suspend the license of an aggressive driver even before a court hearing if they are deemed a threat to public safety.

• ✓If you are confronted by an aggressive driver, you should attempt to get out of their way and avoid eye contact.
• ✓You can report an emergency situation involving an aggressive driver to the State Police by calling 911.
• ✓The RMV can suspend your license for aggressive driving before a court date if you are considered a threat to public safety.

Driving safely around large vehicles like trucks and buses requires understanding their limitations. They have large blind spots on all four sides; if you can't see the truck's mirrors, the driver can't see you. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can take twice as far to stop as a passenger car, so never cut in front of one and then slow down. On multi-lane highways, trucks are restricted to the two right-hand lanes.

• ✓A fully loaded tractor-trailer may take twice as far to stop as a passenger vehicle.
• ✓If you are driving behind a large truck and cannot see its rearview mirrors, you are tailgating in its rear blind spot.
• ✓On a multiple-lane highway, trucks and buses are generally restricted to using the two right-hand lanes.

State law has very specific rules for operating a vehicle near trolleys. Because trolleys run on tracks and cannot swerve, drivers must be extra cautious. You are legally required to maintain a specific minimum distance when a trolley is stopped for passengers. You must also yield and never turn in front of an approaching trolley.

• ✓You must not drive closer than eight feet to the passenger steps of a trolley that is stopped to let passengers on or off.
• ✓You must not turn in front of an approaching trolley, as its path is limited to its tracks and it cannot swerve to avoid a collision.
• ✓Always keep a safe distance between your vehicle and a trolley that is sharing the roadway.

Funeral processions have the right-of-way at intersections. If the lead vehicle legally enters an intersection, the rest of the procession may follow, even if the traffic signal changes to red. Other drivers must yield to the procession and are prohibited from interfering with it. You may not drive between vehicles in a procession, join it, or cross its path at an intersection, even if you have a green light.

• ✓A funeral procession has the right-of-way at intersections and may follow its lead vehicle through a red light or stop sign.
• ✓You may not drive between the vehicles of a funeral procession unless directed by law enforcement.
• ✓You may not cross the path of a funeral procession at an intersection, even if your traffic light is green.

Details the specific locations where parking is illegal in Massachusetts. Violations can result in fines and prevent the renewal of your license or registration. It is crucial to know specific distances, such as from fire hydrants and intersections, and the penalties for violations like parking in a bus stop or a space for persons with disabilities.

• ✓You may not park within 20 feet of an intersection.
• ✓You may not park within 10 feet of a fire hydrant.
• ✓Parking in a posted bus stop carries a $100 penalty.
• ✓The fine for illegally parking in a space reserved for persons with disabilities (HP-DV) is $300 for a first offense.
• ✓You are not allowed to 'double park' (park in a traffic lane next to a row of parked vehicles).

Explains the specific legal duties a motor vehicle operator has when driving near bicyclists to prevent common types of crashes. This includes rules for safe passing distance, yielding the right-of-way, and preventing 'dooring' incidents. The 'Dutch Reach' is a key technique emphasized for safety.

• ✓When passing a bicyclist, a motorist must maintain a safe distance of at least four feet.
• ✓Drivers and passengers can be fined up to $100 for opening a vehicle door into an oncoming bicycle.
• ✓When turning left, a driver must yield the right-of-way to an oncoming bicycle, just as they would for another motor vehicle.
• ✓Use the 'Dutch Reach' method (opening the door with your far hand) to ensure you see approaching bicyclists before opening your door.

Explains the correct procedure for securing a vehicle when parking on a hill, with or without a curb, to prevent it from rolling into traffic. This involves setting the parking brake, putting the vehicle in the correct gear (Park for automatic, in gear for manual), and turning the front wheels in the proper direction based on the curb and direction of the hill.

• ✓When parking uphill against a curb, you must turn your front wheels outward, toward the travel lane.
• ✓When parking downhill against a curb, you must turn your front wheels inward, toward the curb.
• ✓When parking on a hill with no curb (either uphill or downhill), you must turn your wheels inward, toward the edge of the road.

Outlines the rules pedestrians must follow for their own safety in Massachusetts. This includes using crosswalks and sidewalks when available and walking on the correct side of the road when no sidewalk is present. Drivers must be aware of these rules to anticipate pedestrian behavior.

• ✓State law requires pedestrians to use a crosswalk when one is available.
• ✓When no sidewalk is available, pedestrians should walk on the shoulder facing oncoming traffic.
• ✓Pedestrians must not walk along or across expressways, interstate highways, or turnpikes.

Details the traffic laws that apply to bicyclists, who generally have the same rights and responsibilities as motor vehicle operators. This includes rules for lane use, signaling, and required safety equipment, such as lights for night riding and helmets for young riders.

• ✓Bicyclists under 16 years old must wear an approved helmet.
• ✓From a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, a bicycle must have a white front lamp visible from 500 feet and a red rear light or reflector visible from 600 feet.
• ✓Bicyclists must signal their intent to stop or turn, but the signal does not have to be continuous if both hands are needed for safe operation.
• ✓No more than two bicycles can be operated side-by-side, and they must stay within a single lane if on a multi-lane road.

Describes modern road infrastructure designed for cyclist safety, such as bicycle boxes and separated bike lanes. Drivers must know how to properly approach and stop at intersections with these markings to avoid conflicts with cyclists and follow traffic laws.

• ✓At an intersection with a bicycle box, a motor vehicle must stop behind the white stop line, before the green bicycle box, even if the box is empty.
• ✓When turning right across a separated bike lane, drivers must yield to pedestrians and bicyclists who are crossing.

Covers a range of illegal activities while operating a vehicle or on a roadway in Massachusetts. These rules address safety, environmental protection, and public nuisance, including prohibitions against racing, littering, and modifying a vehicle's exhaust system.

• ✓It is illegal to drag race or drive on a bet or wager.
• ✓Throwing garbage, glass, or lighted cigarettes from your vehicle is prohibited.
• ✓It is illegal to bypass or cut out a motor vehicle’s muffler system.

When an emergency vehicle (fire engine, ambulance, police car) approaches from any direction with its siren or flashing lights active, you must yield the right-of-way. This requires you to pull over to the far right side of the road and come to a complete stop until the vehicle has passed. It is also illegal to follow a responding emergency vehicle too closely.

• ✓You must pull over to the right side of the road and come to a complete stop for an approaching emergency vehicle with its lights and/or siren active.
• ✓It is illegal to follow closer than 300 feet behind an emergency vehicle that is responding to an alarm.
• ✓If you are in an intersection when an emergency vehicle approaches, drive through the intersection first and then pull over and stop.

The 'Move Over Law' in Massachusetts mandates specific actions when approaching a stationary emergency, highway maintenance, or recovery vehicle with its flashing lights activated. Drivers must slow down to a reasonable and safe speed. On highways with multiple lanes in the same direction, drivers are required to move over to a lane that is not directly next to the stopped vehicle, if it is safe to do so.

• ✓When approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with flashing lights, you must reduce your speed to one that is reasonable and safe for the conditions.
• ✓On a highway with at least two lanes in your direction, you must yield the right-of-way by moving to a lane not adjacent to the emergency vehicle, if possible.
• ✓If moving over is not possible or safe, you must still slow down significantly and proceed with caution.

During a traffic stop in Massachusetts, you are legally required to provide your driver's license and vehicle registration to the officer upon request. Failure to do so, or providing false information, carries specific monetary fines and can lead to more serious charges.

• ✓The fine for a first offense for failing to produce your license or registration upon an officer's request is $35.
• ✓If you provide a false name or address to a police officer, you can be fined $100 and may be arrested.

For the safety of emergency personnel and the public, Massachusetts law places strict distance restrictions on drivers near a fire scene. You are prohibited from driving or parking within a specified distance of a fire and must never drive over an unprotected fire hose unless directed by an official.

• ✓It is illegal to drive by or park your vehicle within 800 feet of a fire.
• ✓You may not drive over an unprotected fire hose unless a firefighter or public safety official directs you to do so.

If signaled to stop by a police officer, you must pull your vehicle over to the right side of the road safely and completely. To ensure safety, you should stay in your vehicle, turn on the interior light at night, keep your hands in plain sight, and wait for the officer to request your documents before reaching for them.

• ✓When pulled over by a police officer, you must remain in your vehicle unless instructed to get out.
• ✓If the traffic stop occurs at night, you should turn on the interior overhead light of your vehicle.
• ✓Wait until the officer asks for your license and registration before reaching into your glove compartment or other areas.