Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

September 15, 2025

Massachusetts Wraps “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”: What It Means for Victims and Families

Massachusetts closed out the annual Labor Day impaired-driving enforcement wave on September 1 as part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. At Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers, we recognize the effectiveness of high-visibility patrols, sobriety checkpoints, and public education efforts in preventing tragedies. When a crash does happen, they can also shape the evidence, the criminal charges, and the path to civil recovery. Below, we explain what the campaign is, why it runs in late August through Labor Day, how it connects to Massachusetts crash trends, and what steps victims should take after an impaired-driving collision.

What the enforcement wave is and when it ran in 2025

Each summer, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration coordinates a nationwide crackdown on impaired driving around Labor Day. In 2025, the enforcement period ran from August 15 to September 1, supported by paid and earned media that encouraged drivers to plan a sober ride. You likely saw messages like “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Ride Sober or Get Pulled Over” across television, radio, digital platforms, and highway signs.

August 29, 2025

Drunk Driving Victims: Late-Summer 2025 Developments

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Late summer is a dangerous time on American roads and waterways. From mid-August through Labor Day, alcohol related crashes historically spike as travel, celebrations, and late nights increase. This year is no exception. Our drunk driving victims’ attorneys are tracking high-profile cases, new enforcement waves, and policy changes that matter to victims and their families. In this update, we walk through what happened in August and early September 2025, what these developments mean for your rights, and how we build strong civil cases for those harmed by impaired drivers.

What Happened in August 2025: A Snapshot of Tragedy and Accountability

Across the country, police and prosecutors announced charges in several heart-wrenching crashes. In Houston, two young men visiting friends were killed when an allegedly intoxicated driver slammed into their vehicle in Midtown. Prosecutors brought murder charges, reflecting how seriously Texas treats extreme intoxication and reckless conduct that causes deaths. Families and classmates held vigils and called for accountability.

July 20, 2025

A New Road to Safety: Massachusetts Drivers and the Coming 2026 Drunk-Driving Detection Mandate

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As a personal injury attorney dedicated to protecting victims of drunk-driving crashes, I know that the most effective way to save lives is to stop these tragedies before they happen. Beginning with the 2026 model year, a groundbreaking federal requirement will mandate that all new passenger vehicles be equipped with advanced drunk-driving detection systems. This measure will impact drivers nationwide, including here in Massachusetts, and is aimed at making impaired driving a relic of the past.

Our drunk driving victim accident attorney explains the new mandate, the technology behind it, and its implications for safety, privacy, and the evolving legal landscape.

The Legislative Foundation

June 17, 2025

Understanding Your Rights as a Victim of Drunk Driving in Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Human and Legal Cost of Impaired Driving

Every year in the Commonwealth, crashes caused by drivers under the influence shatter lives and place an enormous financial and emotional burden on victims and their families. Massachusetts law recognizes that innocent people injured by drunk driving deserve not only compassion but robust legal remedies that make them whole and deter future misconduct. This article explains those remedies from the vantage point of a Boston personal injury practice dedicated to protecting victims’ rights. Our Boston drunk driving team at Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers has recovered compensation for crash survivors across the Commonwealth. We provide the following overview as a public service resource, not as individualized legal advice.

Massachusetts Drunk-Driving Statutes: A Foundation for Your Civil Claim

July 31, 2019

Drunk Drivers in Massachusetts Can Still Evade Ignition Interlock Penalties

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is now the only state in the U.S. where individuals convicted of a first-time offense of operating under the influence of alcohol cannot be subjected to interlock ignition devices before their car keys are returned. Boston drunk driving accident attorneys understand a number of traffic safety activists are trying to change this.

Among those involved are AAA Northeast and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who have for years been pushing lawmakers to expand ignition interlock device usage. These machines, required of repeat OUI offender in Massachusetts since the 2005 passage of Melanie’s Law, which enhanced numerous penalties for drunk driving.

Per MGL 90, § 24, and MGL 90 § 24 ½, ignition interlock devices are to be installed – and paid for – by individuals convicted twice or more of operating under the influence, either when they are eligible for license restatement following their revocation/suspension OR during their revocation/suspension if they qualify for a condition hardship driver’s license. The latter is only good for 12 hours daily throughout that time.

The devices require the driver to provide an alcohol-free breath sample before the vehicle will start. If the individual tests positive for alcohol over a certain point, the ignition “locks” and the vehicle won’t start. The device also records the number of failed breath tests, which can be submitted to a judge and used as evidence against the driver if a condition of probation or parole is that the individual not consume alcohol. Continue reading

January 31, 2019

Impaired Driving a Growing Concern in New England

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Our drunk driving injury lawyers in Massachusetts are following legal efforts aimed at drunk drivers across New England as the 2019 legislative session begins in earnest.

Massachusetts ranks in the middle of the pack, placing 22nd in a scoring of legal efforts in all 50 states to reduce the risk of drunk driving collisions. And, while the Commonwealth ranked 13th when it comes to criminal penalties for violators, we ranked just 44th in the nation when it comes to prevention efforts, only Iowa, Montana, Idaho, and North and South Dakota Ranked worse. When it comes to criminal penalties, Massachusetts got relatively high marks for felony DUI prosecutions and life-time look-back when it comes to taking into account previous drunk driving convictions. However, no mandatory minimum sentences for first time offenses and a relatively short 90-day administrative license suspension reduced our score.

Washington D.C. tied for dead last when it comes to prevention efforts, the consequences of which are becoming apparent. WJLA News in Washington, D.C., reports the number of drunk-driving deaths is on the rise in the nation’s capital, despite fewer drunk-driving crashes being reported to police. Despite fewer crashes, the number of deaths increased dramatically, from 59 in 2016 to 86 in 2017. In many cases, enforcement statistics are a measure of enforcement efforts.

December 30, 2018

Education and Enforcement Keys to Reducing Drunk-Driving Injury Risks in 2019

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

CBS4 Boston rang in the new year by asking why Massachusetts does not have tougher drunk driving laws.

It’s a fair question and an admirable focus as we enter 2019.

As we reported earlier this fall on our Boston Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer Blog, relaxed marijuana laws and the opioid crisis have increased the risk drivers will be involved in a traffic collision with an at-fault driver impaired by drugs.

In response, Massachusetts launched a statewide campaign in December to target stoned drivers. Massachusetts has 155 officers certified as drug recognition officers and 1,402 trained in advanced roadside impaired driving enforcement, according to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, which is also providing funding to 139 local law enforcement departments for stringent impaired-driving enforcement efforts that will include sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols at high-incident locations.

In Massachusetts, more than 800 drivers were cited in 2018 for driving under the influence of drugs, Channel 22 News reported.

The risks are particularly high this week. Both Christmas and New Year’s Day are among the five most dangerous holidays for traffic accidents, according to the American Safety Council. Increased enforcement is scheduled to run through Jan. 1.

But it’s what we do as a state in 2019 that will have an ever greater impact on road safety.

May 29, 2018

Teen Drunk Driving Accidents Affect Many in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

With Memorial Day upon us it is a good time to talk about the risk of teen drunk driving accidents as we head into the summer months.

Drunk Driving Car Accident Statistics involving Fatalities in Boston

Drunk driving is not only very dangerous to the person behind the wheel, it presents a grave danger to anyone else on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) records indicate more than 10,000 people die each year in the U.S. from alcohol-related traffic crashes. This number means on average, one person will be killed by a drunk driver nearly every 50 minutes of every day. Not only is this unacceptable in terms of lives lost, it results in cost to society of around $44 billion each year. There are a variety of factors which make up this cost, but the costs to the victims and their families can be astronomical in terms of money and emotional pain. We must remember for each Boston drunk driving accident death, there is a family who is left behind to deal with the pain and suffering. Even in cases which do not prove fatal, there can be tremendous pain and suffering and lives may be altered forever.

In some cases, it is the passengers in the drunk driver’s vehicle and in other cases, it is pedestrians and drivers or passengers in other vehicles. Due to the higher level of recklessness we tend to see in Boston drunk driving accidents, as compared to accidents in which defendant was acting negligent, but still sober, we tend to see much more severe personal injury. These are all factors which can make a Boston drunk driving crash more complex from a legal perspective. Continue reading

April 8, 2018

Brain Injuries in Boston Drunk Driving Accidents

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Drunk driving collisions are among the most dangerous types of car accidents in Boston. They tend more often to result in fatalities or serious bodily injury to one or more plaintiffs than other “typical” crashes. While any car accident has the potential to be severe, the reason impaired driving accidents are so often catastrophic is because of the extreme reckless acts so often committed by a drunk driver. Things like wrong-way driving, red-light running and extreme speed all become more common when someone is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When plaintiffs do survive a serious drunk driving accident, they are often left with severe and lasting injuries including, but not limited to permanent brain damage.

While there is no such thing as a “typical” drunk driving accident, we often see cases where drunk drivers were speeding excessively, operating with a complete disregard for the traffic laws as codified in Chapter 90 of the Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.), and the level of recklessness may actually be enough for the police to charge a drunk driver with assault with a dangerous weapon (his or her car) in addition to drunk driving as we can see in a recent example of a serious alleged Boston drunk driving car accident. Continue reading

March 19, 2018

Spring’s Deadly Drunk-Driving Accident Risks

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

We are entering the deadliest time of the year for teen drivers. That’s saying something considering traffic accidents are the leading cause of teen deaths all year long.

Spring break. High school and college graduation. Senioritis, spring and summer road trips. Summer break. Whole crops of freshman and sophomore drivers hitting the roads for the first time. Bad weather. Good weather. Heavy traffic. Long trips home from college.

A confluence of risk factors makes the next 10 weeks or so — from the beginning of spring break to the end of the graduation party season — the most tragic of the year on the nation’s roads.