Getting a traffic ticket anywhere is no fun―and it's less fun in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles and the insurance companies really stick it to bad drivers with fines, insurance surcharges and points toward license suspension. Don't even think of not paying your tickets; things will get a lot worse in a hurry.

If You Get a Traffic Ticket in Massachusetts

• You can waive your right to a hearing before a judge and pay the fine by mail or online. By paying the fine, you accept a guilty plea for the violation, which will go on your RMV driving record. The RMV will also notify your insurance company.

• You can ask for a hearing before a municipal court judge and argue that the ticket was wrongly issued. Then the judge can dismiss the case. The judge can also order you to pay the fine, plus court costs, if he or she thinks your case is frivolous. Your call.

Either way, you have to make a decision within 20 days. Don't ignore the ticket. If you do, you'll face extra fees, and a possible arrest warrant and license suspension.

Parking tickets are not considered traffic violations and are due to the municipality where the violation occurred. You need to pay the traffic tickets or you will not be able to renew your driver's license or registration.

Top How to Pay Traffic Tickets in Massachusetts

The easiest way to pay a traffic ticket in Massachusetts is online. You can also pay your non-criminal ticket by any of the following methods:

• Phone: Call the RMV telephone center and pay using a MasterCard or Visa.

• Mail: Send a check for your payment to the following address:

  Attn: Citation Payment
  Registry of Motor Vehicles
  P.O. Box 55890
  Boston, MA 02205-5890
  

• In Person: You may bring your payment to any nearby Registry of Motor Vehicles office with cash, a check or a credit card.

Top Challenging a Ticket in Massachusetts

Should you challenge the ticket? Some attorneys advise you to challenge every ticket if you have the time. You never know. The police officer might not show up and the judge could throw the case out.

On the other hand, the officer will likely show up and then you'd better have something behind your challenge or you might end up in more trouble than if you had simply paid the ticket in the first place.

If you're going to challenge a ticket, here are five strategies from Findlaw.com:

• Challenge the officer's subjective conclusion―can he prove he saw you run that stop sign?

• Challenge the officer's observations―can you get witnesses, make diagrams or show photos that cast doubt on what the officer says he saw?

• Prove the conduct was an unavoidable mistake―was the stop sign hidden or new in the area?

• Prove you were legally justified―did you run the stop sign because you were sick and trying to get to a hospital?

• Prove your conduct was necessary to avoid harm―did you have to run the stop sign because your brakes failed and you would have otherwise hit someone?

The final decision here is yours, but there can be a lot of money at stake: Counting fines and insurance surcharges, a single speeding ticket could eventually cost more than $1,000. So it's an important decision to think about.

Top How Traffic Tickets Affect Your Insurance and Driving Record

In Massachusetts, the RMV and the insurance companies doing business in the state have cooked up a program that severely penalizes drivers with moving violations or traffic accidents, especially repeated and serious ones.

So anytime you are convicted of a traffic violation (and by paying your ticket you are agreeing to plead guilty), you get hit with a fine and a mandated insurance surcharge that can stay on your record for at least three years. Also, every "surchargeable incident" is recorded and multiple incidents can mean mandatory traffic school or a license suspension.

Top If You Don't Pay Your Traffic Ticket

With the penalties that await you for even a basic traffic violation in Massachusetts, it might be tempting to ignore your traffic ticket and hope for the best. Three words: Don't do it.

You have 20 days to pay your ticket or request a hearing. If you don't do one or the other, you are technically in default and face suspension of your license indefinitely. Continue to ignore the payment and the RMV can file charges in court, which can result in a warrant being issued for your arrest.

In other words, either fire up for a challenge or grit your teeth and pay.

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