Appearing in The Boston Globe on June 9, 2025, Laura Crimaldi interviews NCLC Staff Attorney Caroline Cohn for coverage of how thousands of Massachusetts drivers each year face the possibility of losing their legal authority to drive, and sometimes the only fix carries an insurmountable cost.
The state Registry of Motor Vehicles placed driver’s licenses in non-renewal status nearly 3 million times during a five-period because of unpaid tolls and other debts unrelated to road safety, according to agency data reviewed by the Globe. The designation means that once those driver’s licenses expire, they cannot be renewed, unless the entire debt, sometimes thousands of dollars, is paid in full.
The number of drivers who lost their authority to drive under these circumstances is unclear. The Registry’s data didn’t specify how many drivers failed to settle their debts before their licenses expired. Those who do face limited choices. No payment plans are available, and unlike drivers who have been sanctioned for dangerous driving, there are no hardship licenses.
“They’re really put in an impossible situation.”
Caroline Cohn, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.
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