Hello,
Is a Massachusetts State Police officer allowed to issue traffic
citations while conducting a driving test?
Thank You.

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 04 Nov 2002 11:50 PST

By the nature of your question I can only assume that you are
referring to an specific incident in which something struck you as
"odd" or out of the ordinary.

Was this officer on duty or off duty? Did he pursue an offending
vehicle while a "student" was in the car, perhaps? If so, was the
officer's car a "marked unit" or civilian vehicle? Was it a state
owned vehicle or was it the "student's" privately owned vehicle? What
are some specific details that might clear these questions up for me
before I proceed?

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Clarification of Question by brianma25-ga on 04 Nov 2002 18:35 PST

Ok, here are the specifics;
I passed a driving school car on a side street because they were
traveling at 20 mph with the brake lights on.  The car then followed
me home.  A state trooper got out of the car and approached me in my
driveway.  He took my license and registration and told me to follow
them back to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.  I followed them there at
which point he went to his patrol car and wrote me up a ticket for
speeding and unlawful passing.  He was in uniform.  There were three
students with him in a privately owned vehicle.  It was a student
driving the vehicle the entire time.
Thanks again.

Dear brianma25-ga;

Having a 20 plus year career law enforcement myself, I really enjoy
researching these issues pertaining to the laws of the land. I am
happy to oblige you.

According to the GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS Chapter 22C: Section
12. “Misdemeanors committed in presence of on-duty uniformed member;
enforcement powers”, to wit:

-	“Any uniformed member of the state police may, upon view of any
misdemeanor committed in his presence while on duty, arrest the person
committing such misdemeanor, where such misdemeanor was committed in
any building or grounds owned or occupied, wholly or in part by the
commonwealth, or on streets adjacent to any such building, and shall
enforce all traffic rules, regulations and ordinances on streets
adjacent to buildings owned or occupied, wholly or in part, by the
commonwealth.”

As you can see in the following passages, even if the officer had been
off duty at the time, he still would have been authorized and (in his
mind, apparently) justified in issuing a citation for a traffic
violation that occurred in his presence:

In generalizing various job descriptions in the United States, the US
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics makes this assessment
of the law enforcement profession: “In most jurisdictions, they are
expected to exercise authority when necessary, whether on or off
duty.”

According to Captain Tom Fitzgerald, commander of the Troop B barracks
in Northampton, MA, “For all intents and purposes, we're on duty 24
hours a day, seven days a week…”

In short, the simple answer to your question is “yes”, according to
state law, a Massachusetts State Police officer is indeed allowed to
issue traffic citations while conducting a driving test…or while
performing in any other capacity for that matter.

I hope this research proves useful to you. Good luck.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga

US Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics
“Police and Detectives”
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm


“Valley Advocate”
“Pistol-Packing at Packards”
By David Reid and Pippin Ross
originally published on July 27, 1983
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/25th/archives/packing.html

GENERAL LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS
CHAPTER 22C. THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE
http://www.state.ma.us/legis/laws/mgl/gl-22C-toc.htm

I couldn't have asked for a more concise answer...Thank You!

I don't know of any specific regulations on this subject, but you have
to consider that the primary purpose of the police is to enforce
public safety.

Even in a learning or testing situation, any traffic violation that
might constitute a danger (i.e. excessive speeding, running a light,
crossing on a double line, etc...) to the public would probably result
in a citation. I would like to think that most officers would
appreciate the situation and let the offender off with only a warning,
but it is at their discrection.

Having read the specifics of your situation, I can understand better
now. I had a very similar situation occur a few years back. I
originally interpreted that you were the operator of the vehicle
taking a driving test when you received the ticket.

A few years back while driving to work I was on a two lane road in a
semi-residential area. (there were no houses directly on the street,
but access roads to subdivisions every couple of blocks)
The speed limit on that road was 35mph. A car in front of me was
travelling at about 15mph. There were no indications that he was
turning or stopping, he was just crawling along. (BTW, as my handle
indicates, I live in Florida, infamous for it's elderly drivers and
voting problems)
Another motorist in front of me passed him, and I followed shortly
after it was clear. I will admit that I passed on a double line, but
given the situation, the slower travelling car was probably causing a
greater hazard. The road remained a double line until the next
intersection about a half mile further. However the road was straight
with no hills or curves. It is marked double yellow probably due to
the frequency of side streets.
And of course, there was a motorcycle officer parked off to the side
about 1/4 mile up the road who stopped both myself and the driver in
front of me who had also passed the slow-driver. I was issued a
citation, as you were, for unlawful passing. (I seem to remember the
fine was something like $50 at the time)
In hindsight, I would have liked to have fought the ticket, but I was
working on contract at the time and it would have cost more for me to
take time off work to go to court than to money I would have saved if
I had won a judgement.
I am considering asking the question of whether the student car would
be at fault also as it was causing a hazard by travelling at an unsafe
speed (I assume the road you were on was not a 20 or even 20mph road.
Maybe a 40mph or faster?), and whether the student driver, even under
the direction of the state trooper was authorized to speed (I assume
it had to to catch up with you) as it is not a properly marked
emergency vehichle. I'll probably do a bit of research myself before
deciding whether to post this question.

I had similar thoughts as to the driving school car traveling at such
a slow speed.  If it had been a farm vehicle would I still have been
cited?  Unfortunately the officer insisted that the car was traveling
at least 30 when I passed them.  Also the road had no lines on it and
was not posted as a no-passing zone.  Another point that I thought was
interesting was that he took away my license and registration yet
insisted I drive to the registry so that he could write me a
ticket........

The fact that the officer took your license and still allowed you to
drive is irrelevant. Since he had proof that you are a licensed driver
the mere fact that you temporarily did not have posession of your
license while driving is a non-issue. As for the trip to the
station...in your state a traffic citation is issued in lieu of bond,
meaning that you did have the option of saying "no" when he asked you
to go with him, in which case he could have excersized his option to
place you under physical arrest (police record), tow your car (towing
bill) and make you post bond (big bucks) to get out of jail (lunch
with "bubba")rather than just paying the ticket and gooing your merry
way. The court then, (assuming you had lost your case before a judge)
would have accessed you additional "court costs" (even bigger bucks
than the ticket) over and above your fine and you would have lost in
many more ways than one.

Count your blessings.