Chapter 85

Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in section two, every city and town shall erect and maintain on the ways therein, except state highways and ways under the control of the department of conservation and recreation, at such places as are convenient for the direction of trave…

Section 10. Towns may make ordinances and by-laws to prevent the pasturing of cattle or other animals, either with or without a keeper; relative to the passage and driving of sheep, swine and neat cattle; prohibiting persons from riding or driving beasts of burden, carriage or dr…

Section 10A. Selectmen in towns, and the aldermen or other board or officer having charge of ways in cities, may by regulation designate certain ways or parts of ways, other than state highways, upon which and the hours during which coasting may be permitted and may in like manne…

Section 11. Whoever violates an ordinance or by-law prohibiting persons from riding or driving at a rate of speed inconsistent with public safety or convenience may be arrested without a warrant by an officer authorized to make arrests and kept in custody not more than twenty-fou…

Section 11B. Every person operating a bicycle upon a way, as defined in section one of chapter ninety, shall have the right to use all public ways in the commonwealth except limited access or express state highways where signs specifically prohibiting bicycles have been posted, a…

Section 11D. Every person engaged in the retail business of selling or renting bicycles, in line skates, scooters, skate boards or other manually-propelled wheeled vehicles shall display in an area conspicuous to customers of the business a sign containing the following statement…

Section 11E. A police officer who observes a traffic law violation committed by a bicyclist may request the offender to state his true name and address. Whoever, upon such request, refuses to state his name and address or whoever states a false name and address or a name and addr…

Section 14A. (a) For purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:— ''Funeral directing'', the business, practice or profession, as commonly practiced, of (a) directing or supervising funerals or providing funeral service; (b) handling or encasi…

Section 14B. Whenever any commercial vehicle having a gross weight in excess of five thousand pounds other than a motor bus or taxicab, or any automobile service truck, so called, becomes disabled or stops to load or unload any motorized equipment from such vehicle or from a trai…

Section 15. A vehicle, whether stationary or in motion, on a public way, shall have attached to it headlights and taillights which shall be turned on by the vehicle operator and so displayed as to be visible from the front and rear during the period of 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/…

Section 16. Every person shall while driving or in charge of or occupying a vehicle during the period from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise, when requested by a police officer, give his true name and address.

Section 17. Whoever violates any of the provisions of section fifteen or section sixteen shall be punished by a fine of not more than five dollars. The driver or custodian of a vehicle shall be deemed to be the party responsible therefor and shall be liable to the foregoing penal…

Section 17A. Whoever, for the purpose of soliciting any alms, contribution or subscription or of selling any merchandise, except newspapers, or ticket of admission to any game, show, exhibition, fair, ball, entertainment or public gathering, signals a moving vehicle on any public…

Section 17B. Whoever rides upon the rear or side of any street railway car, motor bus, or trackless trolley vehicle without the consent of the person in charge thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than twenty dollars.

Section 18. No person shall move a building in a public way without written permission from the selectmen or road commissioners, to be granted upon such terms as in their opinion the public safety may require; and the superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce th…

Section 19. Whoever leads or drives a bear or other dangerous wild animal or causes it to travel upon or be conveyed over a public way unless properly secured in some covered vehicle or cage shall be punished by a fine of not less than five nor more than twenty dollars. Any such …

Section 2. The department of highways, in this chapter called the department, shall erect and maintain on state highways and on ways leading thereto and therefrom, and on all main highways between cities and towns, such direction signs, warning signs or lights, curb, street or ot…

Section 20. The county commissioners may establish by-laws regulating the speed at which persons may ride or drive over any bridge in their county which has cost not less than one thousand dollars and which was constructed or is maintained in whole or in part by said county, exce…

Section 21. A town may establish ordinances or by-laws to prohibit persons from riding or driving horses at a rate faster than a walk over any bridge within its limits which has cost not less than five hundred dollars, and may affix penalties not exceeding one dollar for a breach…

Section 21A. Subject to the provisions of section two, cities and towns are hereby authorized to erect and maintain on state and town and city highways such warning signs, lights or markings as are necessary for the protection of school children; provided, however, that, subject …

Section 22. The proprietors of an incorporated bridge may make by-laws to prohibit persons from riding or driving horses over such bridge at a rate faster than a walk; and may affix penalties not exceeding two dollars for each offence, to be recovered to the use of the corporatio…

Section 23. The governor, with the advice and consent of the council, may make by-laws for the regulation of travel on ways belonging to the commonwealth. Whoever violates any such by-law shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

Section 24. No person shall be liable to penalty under the four preceding sections for violation of a by-law relating to travel on a bridge, unless a white board containing in black letters the substance of said by-law is kept posted in a conspicuous place at each end of the brid…

Section 25. District courts in the towns in which the bridge terminates, shall have jurisdiction of complaints for the violation, on such bridges, of the five preceding sections.

Section 26. The department, county commissioners or any city or town in which a draw for the passage of vessels through a bridge used as a way and maintained at the public expense is situated, whichever has control of said bridge, may make ordinances or by-laws regulating the pas…

Section 27. When such ordinances or by-laws have been approved, the department, county commissioners or the city or town shall place said draw under the direction of a suitable draw tender, and shall post a copy of such ordinances or by-laws in some conspicuous place near by. Suc…

Section 28. If a vessel, through the negligence of the persons having it in charge, or through their neglect to comply with such ordinances or by-laws, or disregard of the directions of such draw tender, injures a bridge or draw, or a pier or wharf connected therewith, the owner …

Section 29. Such draw tender may remove a vessel which obstructs such draw, or interferes with the passage of other vessels through the same, or is made fast, without his consent, to such draw or bridge or to a pier or wharf connected therewith, or the persons in charge of which …

Section 2A. The department, for the purpose of insuring the free flow of traffic or for the purpose of snow and ice control operations on a state highway, may, by its own employees or with such other assistance as it may require, remove or cause to be removed to the nearest conve…

Section 2B. The department for purpose of promoting public safety upon limited access and express state highways, may from time to time make, alter, rescind or add to regulations to exclude, govern and restrict the use of such state highways by horse-drawn vehicles, bicycles, ped…

Section 2C. The department, for the purpose of promoting public safety and convenience, may authorize by any rule or regulation adopted under this section with such limitations, if any, as may be deemed proper, the colonel of state police and the principal police official of the …

Section 2D. The department may, upon application by an interested person or persons and upon payment of an appropriate fee to be established by the department, erect on state highways, signs indicating the availability of gas, food and lodging and telephone or other services conv…

Section 2E. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 18 of chapter 90, the department for purposes of public safety and convenience may from time to time by regulations exclude persons and vehicles from state highways or portions thereof for such periods as it may deem necessary…

Section 3. When the name of any public way, place or section, or of any public park, is changed by the board or officer having jurisdiction thereof, if the name changed has been in use for twenty-five years or more, there shall be a right of appeal from such action to the departm…

Section 30. Except as provided in section nineteen A of chapter ninety, no vehicle shall travel or object be moved, on any public way, which has any device attached to or made a part of its wheels or the rollers or other supports on which it rests, which will injure the surface o…

Section 30A. The owner or lessee of any motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer or semi-trailer unit, as defined in section one of chapter ninety, which may lawfully be operated on the ways of this commonwealth may apply to the commissioner of highways for a permit authorizing the o…

Section 31. No vehicle which with its load weighs more than four tons shall, when equipped with metallic tires, travel upon any public way at a speed greater than four miles an hour.

Section 32. Any person violating any provision of section thirty, thirty A, or thirty-one, or the regulations made or permits granted under authority thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, to be paid to the commonwealth when state highways are i…

Section 33. Nothing in sections thirty to thirty-two, inclusive, shall affect the liability of the commonwealth or of any county, city, or town to pay for any damage or injury to any person or property.

Section 34. Except as otherwise provided in the following section, the department, person or local authorities having control of any bridge constructed prior to June first, nineteen hundred and sixty on any road shall maintain notices not less than one hundred feet from each end …

Section 35. No bridge on a public highway having a span in excess of ten feet, except a bridge constructed under the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine, shall be constructed or reconstructed by any county or town except in accordance with plans and specifications th…

Section 36. No person shall drive or move a motor vehicle on any way, as defined in section one of chapter ninety, nor shall the owner or bailee of any vehicle require or permit the same to be driven or moved on any such way, unless such vehicle is constructed or loaded so as to …

Section 37. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any provision, clause, covenant or agreement contained in a motor carrier transportation contract that purports to indemnify, defend or hold harmless, or has the effect of indemnifying, defending or holding h…

Section 3A. No way in any city or town which is open for public use but has not become a public way shall be given a name unless the same is first approved by its board of survey, or, if there is no such board, its board of aldermen or board of selectmen.

Section 3B. When any way in a city or town which is open for public use but has not become a public way is known by a name, identical with the name of another such way or of a public way in the same city or town, or so similar thereto as, in the opinion of its board of survey, or…

Section 4. A person owning or occupying land adjoining a public way in a town may construct a sidewalk within such way and along the line of such land, indicating the width of such sidewalk by trees, posts or curbstones set at reasonable distances apart, or by a railing; and, if …

Section 5. Cities by ordinance and towns by by-laws may provide for the removal of snow and ice from sidewalks within such portions of the city or town as they consider expedient by the owner or occupant of land abutting upon such sidewalks. Such ordinances and by-laws shall dete…

Section 6. Any town which accepts this section or has accepted corresponding provisions of earlier laws, may cause the snow and ice to be removed from its permanent sidewalks constructed of brick, stone, cement, concrete or asphalt, and may provide that the assessors may assess u…