What Is Considered Reckless Driving in Massachusetts?

Reckless driving in Massachusetts is the crime of operating a motor vehicle “recklessly, or… negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered” under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a). There is no traffic ticket called reckless driving and no speed that triggers it automatically. It is a criminal charge, heard in a criminal session, and a conviction carries a fine of $20 to $200, two weeks to two years in jail, or both. The conviction is reported to the Registrar, who revokes the license for at least sixty days unless the court recommends otherwise, and the statute adds a $250 assessment that the court cannot waive. The statute has two branches, reckless and negligent, with the same penalty, and the negligent branch is the lower bar.

If you were hurt by a driver who was charged with reckless or negligent operation, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free. This page is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice about your situation.

A few terms come up throughout. Negligent operation means driving without the care a reasonable person would use, in a way that could put other people in danger. Reckless operation is the more serious branch, and the nearest statutory definition (in the motor vehicle homicide law) is that a person “consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk.” A misdemeanor is a crime that cannot be punished by state prison. A continuance without a finding is a disposition, described in c. 278, sec. 18, in which a guilty finding is not entered and the case is continued on conditions to a date when it is dismissed. A civil motor vehicle infraction is an ordinary ticket, such as speeding, that carries no possibility of jail.

The Statute, Word by Word

The offense sits inside a long paragraph of c. 90, sec. 24 that also covers leaving the scene of property damage, racing, and false statements on a license application. The part that matters here reads:

“Whoever upon any way or in any place to which the public has a right of access, or any place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees, operates a motor vehicle recklessly, or operates such a vehicle negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered… shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not less than two weeks nor more than two years, or both.”

Three phrases in that sentence decide most cases.

“Any place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees.” The charge is not limited to public roads. A supermarket parking lot, a gas station, or a private way the public uses falls within the words. A driver who spins tires through a crowded lot is within the statute even though no public street is involved.

“Might be endangered.” The statute does not require a crash, an injury, or even a near miss with a particular person. It asks whether the way the vehicle was driven could have endangered the public. A crash is evidence, but the charge can be brought without one, and a crash does not prove the charge by itself.

“Recklessly, or… negligently.” These are alternatives. The prosecution needs only one.

Reckless Versus Negligent: Two Branches, One Penalty

	Negligent operation	Reckless operation
Statutory words	”negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered"	"recklessly”
What it describes	Failing to use the care a reasonable driver would use, in a way that could endanger others	Knowing of a serious risk to others and driving on anyway
Defined in sec. 24?	No	No. Sec. 24G(c) defines it for motor vehicle homicide: “consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered”
Penalty under sec. 24(2)(a)	$20 to $200, two weeks to two years, or both	The same
$250 assessment named in the statute	Yes	The assessment sentence names negligent operation
If a death results (sec. 24G)	Homicide by motor vehicle: 30 days to 2 1/2 years, or $300 to $3,000, or both	Reckless homicide by motor vehicle: up to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction, or up to 5 years in state prison, or up to $3,000

Because the penalty under sec. 24(2)(a) is the same for both branches, the difference between them matters less at the charging stage than people expect. It matters a great deal when someone dies. Under sec. 24G, a death caused by negligent operation is a misdemeanor, and a death caused by reckless operation can be punished by state prison, which under c. 274, sec. 1 makes it a felony.

It also explains the names. People search for “reckless driving,” and the same statute is what is meant by “negligent operation” and by “operating to endanger.” They are all sec. 24(2)(a).

What Kind of Driving Gets Charged

Section 24(2)(a) describes conduct, not a list of acts. No speed, no number of lane changes and no blood alcohol level is written into it. What the statute and its neighbors do tell us:

• Speed alone is usually a ticket. Under c. 90, sec. 17, driving faster than is “reasonable and proper” is a civil infraction, and exceeding a posted limit is “prima facie evidence” of that. It becomes criminal only when the driving as a whole meets sec. 24(2)(a). See when speeding becomes a crime in Massachusetts.
• Racing is named twice. Section 24(2)(a) itself reaches anyone who operates “upon a bet or wager or in a race.” Separately, c. 90, sec. 17B punishes accelerating “at a high rate of speed in competition with another operator, whether or not there is an agreement to race,” by up to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction or a fine of up to $1,000, with a license suspension of not less than 30 days.
• Phone use that injures someone is written in. Section 24(2)(a) applies to a driver who, while violating the phone and texting sections (c. 90, secs. 8M, 12A or 13B), “is the proximate cause of injury to any other person, vehicle or property by operating said motor vehicle negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered.” See the Massachusetts hands-free driving law.
• Impaired driving is charged alongside it. An operating under the influence charge under sec. 24(1) and a negligent operation charge under sec. 24(2) are separate offenses that often arise from the same stop. See whether OUI is a felony in Massachusetts.

The practical point is that the charge looks at everything together: speed for the conditions, traffic, weather, time of day, where pedestrians were, what the driver was doing, and what happened. The same 50 miles per hour can be lawful on an empty divided highway and the basis for a criminal complaint on a wet residential street at school dismissal.

What Happens After a Charge: The Steps

1. A citation or complaint issues. Because jail is possible, negligent or reckless operation is not a civil motor vehicle infraction under c. 90C, sec. 1. It cannot be resolved by mailing in a payment.
2. The court may issue a summons in place of an arrest warrant. Section 24(2)(a) allows a summons where there is “reason to believe that the defendant will appear.”
3. The case is resolved by plea, trial, or a continuance without a finding. Any of those outcomes other than an acquittal or dismissal has a cost attached.
4. The $250 assessment attaches. The statute imposes it on a person who “is convicted of, is placed on probation for or is granted a continuance without a finding for or otherwise pleads guilty to or admits to a finding of sufficient facts of” negligent operation, and adds that it “shall not be subject to reduction or waiver by the court for any reason.”
5. A conviction is reported to the Registrar “forthwith.” Under sec. 24(2)(b) the Registrar “may in any event, and shall unless the court or magistrate recommends otherwise, revoke immediately the license or right to operate of the person so convicted.”
6. The revocation runs even during an appeal. The same paragraph provides that “no appeal, motion for new trial or exceptions shall operate to stay the revocation.”
7. The earliest a new license can issue is set by sec. 24(2)(c). Sixty days after the conviction for a first offense, and one year after the revocation for a subsequent conviction within three years.

Answer Capsule

Massachusetts has no offense titled reckless driving. The conduct is charged under M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a), which makes it a crime to operate a motor vehicle “recklessly, or… negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered” on a public way or any place the public has access to, including a parking lot. No crash or injury is required. Both branches are misdemeanors punished by a fine of $20 to $200, two weeks to two years in jail, or both. A conviction is reported to the Registrar, who revokes the license; a new one cannot issue for sixty days on a first offense, or 180 days for a junior operator. A $250 assessment applies even on a continuance without a finding. If the driving kills someone, c. 90, sec. 24G applies, and a reckless death can carry up to five years in state prison. For an injured person, the criminal case is separate from the civil claim, which has its own three-year deadline under c. 260, sec. 2A.

Every Consequence in One Place

Consequence	Source	What it says
Fine	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a)	Not less than $20 nor more than $200
Jail	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a)	Not less than two weeks nor more than two years; the court may impose a fine, jail, or both
Assessment	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a)	$250, including on a continuance without a finding; not reducible or waivable
License revocation	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(b)	Immediate on the conviction report unless the court recommends otherwise; an appeal does not stay it
Earliest new license, first offense	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(c)	Sixty days after the date of conviction
Earliest new license, subsequent offense within three years	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(c)	One year after the date of revocation
Junior operator	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(c)	180 days for a first offense; one year for a subsequent conviction within three years
Registration	c. 90, sec. 24(2)(b)	The Registrar may revoke the registration of vehicles the person owns
Habitual traffic offender	c. 90, sec. 22F	Three listed convictions in five years, which include reckless or negligent operation, lead to a four-year revocation
Insurance	Safe Driver Insurance Plan	A major traffic law violation is 5 surcharge points

Two items in the table deserve a closer look.

The junior operator rule is three times the adult rule. A driver holding a junior operator’s license who is convicted of operating recklessly or negligently “shall not be eligible for license reinstatement until 180 days after the date of his original conviction for a first offense.” For how often the youngest drivers appear in the crash records, see the Massachusetts teen driver crash data.

The insurance cost usually outlasts the court cost. The Registry of Motor Vehicles describes a major traffic law violation as 5 surcharge points under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan and says the class “includes criminal violations,” giving operating under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and refusing to stop for a police officer as examples. The full list of offenses is in Appendix A of the plan, and an insurer is allowed to use its own approved merit rating plan in place of the state one, so the place to confirm how a specific conviction is rated is the insurer or the Merit Rating Board. For how points turn into premium and how long they last, see how long an accident stays on your insurance in Massachusetts.

There is one statutory softening, and it applies only to the negligent branch. Section 24(2)(c) says the Registrar, “after investigation, may at any time rescind the revocation of a license or right to operate revoked because of a conviction of operating… negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered.”

When Someone Is Hurt or Killed

Section 24(2)(a) has the same penalty whether or not anyone was injured. The injury changes which other statutes apply.

• A death caused by negligent operation is homicide by a motor vehicle under c. 90, sec. 24G(b): 30 days to 2 1/2 years in a jail or house of correction, or a fine of $300 to $3,000, or both.
• A death caused by reckless operation is reckless homicide by a motor vehicle under sec. 24G(c): up to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction, or up to 5 years in state prison, or a fine of up to $3,000, or both.
• A death caused by an impaired driver who was also operating recklessly or negligently falls under sec. 24G(a): 2 1/2 to 15 years in state prison, or 1 to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction, with a minimum of one year actually served.
• Serious bodily injury caused by an impaired driver who was also operating recklessly or negligently falls under c. 90, sec. 24L(1): 2 1/2 to 10 years in state prison, or six months to 2 1/2 years in a house of correction. The statute defines serious bodily injury as injury “which creates a substantial risk of death or which involves either total disability or the loss or substantial impairment of some bodily function for a substantial period of time.”

A conviction under sec. 24G brings a license revocation of 15 years for a first offense and for life on a subsequent one. A conviction under sec. 24L brings two years.

Sections 24G and 24L turn on a death or on impairment. Where neither is present, sec. 24(2)(a) and its two-year maximum is the charge this page describes, and prosecutors may add other charges depending on the facts. Whatever the criminal court does, compensation for the person who was hurt comes from the civil side.

What the Charge Means for the Injured Person

The criminal case belongs to the Commonwealth. It decides whether the driver is punished. It does not pay a hospital bill, replace a paycheck, or compensate for a permanent injury. That is the work of the insurance claim and, if needed, a civil lawsuit, and the two tracks run separately.

Your own Personal Injury Protection pays first, whatever the other driver is charged with. Under c. 90, sec. 34A, PIP pays “without regard to negligence or gross negligence or fault of any kind” up to at least $8,000. See whether Massachusetts is a no-fault state.

The criminal charge is evidence in the civil case, not the verdict. The civil question is whether the driver failed to use reasonable care and whether that caused the injury. The police report, witness statements, any crash reconstruction and any video gathered for the prosecution are often the strongest material the injured person’s side can obtain. But the civil case is proved on its own evidence and to its own standard, and it does not have to wait for the criminal case or depend on how it ends. A driver who is acquitted, or who is never charged, can still be found negligent in a civil case.

A paid ticket is not an admission. If the driver was also cited for a civil infraction and paid it, c. 90C, sec. 3 provides that the payment “shall not be admissible as an admission of guilt, responsibility or negligence in any criminal or civil proceeding.”

Your own share of fault still counts. Under c. 231, sec. 85, an injured person recovers as long as their negligence “was not greater than the total amount of negligence attributable to the person or persons against whom recovery is sought,” with damages reduced in proportion. That the other driver was reckless does not erase the comparison. See comparative negligence in Massachusetts.

In a death case, recklessness changes the damages. The wrongful death statute, c. 229, sec. 2, allows “punitive damages in an amount of not less than five thousand dollars in such case as the decedent’s death was caused by the malicious, willful, wanton or reckless conduct of the defendant or by the gross negligence of the defendant.” See how a Massachusetts wrongful death claim works.

The reckless driver’s own PIP is a different question. Section 34A lets an insurer exclude a person from PIP benefits if that person’s conduct contributed to his own injury while operating under the influence, “while committing a felony or seeking to avoid lawful apprehension or arrest by a police officer,” or “with the specific intent of causing injury or damage to himself or others.” Negligent and reckless operation under sec. 24(2)(a) are misdemeanors, so they are not on that list by themselves.

The civil deadline does not wait for the criminal court. Under c. 260, sec. 2A, an action for personal injuries must be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues. A criminal case that is continued for a year uses up a year of that time.

Common Misunderstandings

“Going 20 over is automatically reckless driving.” No number in the statute makes speed criminal. Section 17 makes excess speed evidence of driving faster than is reasonable and proper, which is a civil infraction.

“No one was hurt, so it cannot be charged.” The words are “might be endangered.”

“It was a parking lot, so the traffic laws do not apply.” Section 24(2)(a) covers places the public has access to as invitees or licensees.

“A continuance without a finding means nothing happened.” The $250 assessment applies to it by name.

“I can keep driving while I appeal.” Section 24(2)(b) says an appeal does not stay the revocation.

“If the driver is convicted, I automatically win my injury case.” The civil claim is proved separately, and your own share of fault is still weighed under c. 231, sec. 85.

Key terms

• Negligent operation: driving a motor vehicle without reasonable care so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered, a crime under c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a).
• Reckless operation: the more serious branch of the same statute; c. 90, sec. 24G(c) describes recklessness as consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk to the lives or safety of the public.
• Misdemeanor: under c. 274, sec. 1, any crime that is not punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison.
• Continuance without a finding: a disposition under c. 278, sec. 18 in which a guilty finding is not entered and the case is continued on conditions to a date of dismissal; the $250 assessment still applies.
• Civil motor vehicle infraction: under c. 90C, sec. 1, an automobile law violation whose maximum penalty does not provide for imprisonment, such as an ordinary speeding ticket.
• Homicide by motor vehicle: the offense under c. 90, sec. 24G when negligent, reckless or impaired operation causes a death.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is considered reckless driving in Massachusetts?

A: Operating a motor vehicle recklessly, or negligently so that the lives or safety of the public might be endangered, on a public way or a place the public has access to. That is the wording of M.G.L. c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a). The statute does not list specific acts or speeds; the driving is judged as a whole against the conditions.

Q: Is reckless driving a felony or a misdemeanor in Massachusetts?

A: A misdemeanor. The maximum punishment under c. 90, sec. 24(2)(a) is two years and does not include state prison, and c. 274, sec. 1 defines a felony as a crime punishable by death or state prison. Reckless homicide by a motor vehicle under sec. 24G(c) can carry state prison, so it is a felony.

Q: What is the penalty for reckless driving in Massachusetts?

A: A fine of $20 to $200, imprisonment for two weeks to two years, or both. A conviction is reported to the Registrar, who revokes the license, and a new license cannot issue for sixty days after a first conviction. For negligent operation the statute adds a $250 assessment the court cannot reduce or waive.

Q: What is the difference between reckless driving and negligent operation?

A: They are two branches of the same statute with the same penalty. Negligent operation means failing to use reasonable care in a way that could endanger the public. Reckless operation means consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk. The difference matters most when someone dies, because c. 90, sec. 24G punishes a reckless death more heavily.

Q: Can you be charged with reckless driving if there was no accident?

A: Yes. The statute asks whether the lives or safety of the public “might be endangered.” It does not require a collision or an injury.

Q: How long do you lose your license for reckless driving in Massachusetts?

A: Under c. 90, sec. 24(2)(c), the Registrar may not issue a new license until sixty days after a first conviction, or one year after revocation for a subsequent conviction within three years. For a junior operator the periods are 180 days and one year. Three listed convictions in five years can lead to a four-year revocation as a habitual traffic offender under sec. 22F.

Q: Does reckless driving apply in a parking lot?

A: Yes. Section 24(2)(a) covers any way, any place the public has a right of access to, and “any place to which members of the public have access as invitees or licensees,” which describes a store or restaurant parking lot.

Q: If the driver who hit me was charged with reckless driving, do I still need to file a claim?

A: Yes. The criminal case punishes the driver and does not compensate you. Medical bills go first to Personal Injury Protection under c. 90, sec. 34A, and a claim against the driver is a separate civil matter with a three-year deadline under c. 260, sec. 2A.

Q: Is Jimmy Knows AI giving me legal advice?

A: No. This page is general information about Massachusetts law for educational purposes. It is not legal advice for your situation and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own situation, call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS.

Talking to a Lawyer

A reckless or negligent operation charge against the other driver tells you the police saw something serious. It does not tell you what your claim is worth, whose insurance pays, or how much time you have, and the criminal court will not answer those questions for you. Call Jim Glaser Law at (617) JIM-WINS. The line is answered 24 hours a day. The first telephone consultation is free. If you or a family member is the one facing the charge, the attorney listens to the scenario on the same call and either handles the matter or connects you with a Massachusetts criminal defense partner attorney.