2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles › Article 7 - Traffic Laws; Signs, Signals and Markings; Accidents; Weight and Size; Traffic Safety › Part 5 - WEIGHT AND SIZE LIMITATIONS › Section 66-7-404 - Height and length of vehicles and loads.

A. A vehicle shall not exceed a height of fourteen feet.
B. A vehicle shall not exceed a length of forty feet extreme overall dimension and no motor home shall exceed a length of forty-five feet extreme overall dimension, exclusive of front and rear bumpers, except when operated in combination with another vehicle as provided in this section. A bus may exceed a length of forty-five feet when operating on national network highways. A combination of vehicles, unless otherwise exempted in this section, shall not exceed an overall length of sixty-five feet, exclusive of front and rear bumpers.
C. A combination of vehicles coupled together shall not consist of more than two units, except:
(1) a truck tractor and semitrailer shall be permitted to pull one trailer;
(2) a vehicle shall be permitted to pull two units, provided that the middle unit is equipped with brakes and has a weight equal to or greater than the last unit and the total combined gross weight of the towed units does not exceed the manufacturer's stated gross weight of the towing units;
(3) a double or triple saddle-mount or fifth wheel mount of vehicles in transit by driveaway-towaway methods shall be permitted;
(4) vehicles and trailers operated by or under contract for municipal refuse systems;
(5) farm trailers, implements of husbandry and fertilizer trailers operated by or under contract to a farmer or rancher in farming or ranching operations; and
(6) as provided in Subsections D through G of this section.
D. Exclusive of safety and energy conservation devices, refrigeration units and other devices such as coupling devices, vehicles operating a truck tractor semitrailer or truck tractor semitrailer-trailer combinations on the interstate highway system and those qualifying federal aid primary system highways designated by the secretary of the United States department of transportation, pursuant to the federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, Public Law 97-424, Section 411, and on those highways designated by the department of transportation by rule may exceed an overall length limitation of sixty-five feet, provided that the length of the semitrailer in a truck tractor semitrailer combination does not exceed fifty-seven feet six inches and the length of the semitrailer or trailer in a truck tractor semitrailer-trailer combination does not exceed twenty-eight feet six inches. The department of transportation shall adopt rules and regulations granting reasonable access to terminals, facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest and points of loading and unloading for household goods carriers to vehicles operating in combination pursuant to this subsection. As used in this subsection, "truck tractor" means a non-cargo carrying power unit designed to operate in combination with a semitrailer or trailer, except that a truck tractor and semitrailer engaged in the transportation of automobiles may transport motor vehicles on part of the truck tractor.
E. The following combination vehicles are specialized equipment and may exceed an overall length of sixty-five feet pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 23, Section 658.13:
(1) automobile transporters;
(2) boat transporters;
(3) beverage semitrailers; and
(4) munitions carriers using dromedary equipment.
F. A saddle-mount vehicle is specialized equipment and may not exceed an overall length of ninety-seven feet pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 23, Section 658.13.
G. Notwithstanding any other subsection of this section, a trailer or semitrailer combination of such dimensions as those that were in actual and lawful use in this state on December 1, 1982 may be lawfully operated on the highways of this state.
History:
1953 Comp., § 64-7-404, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 475; 1979, ch. 323, § 1; 1983, ch. 256, § 1; 1984 (1st S.S.), ch. 9, § 2; 1989, ch. 52, § 1; 1989, ch. 318, § 33; 1991, ch. 160, § 19; 1993, ch. 328, § 4; 2001, ch. 127, § 6 2007, ch. 209, § 8; 2021, ch. 59, § 10.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references.
— For general definitions applicable to this section,
see
66-1-4 to 66-1-4.20 NMSA 1978.
For Section 411 of Public Law 97-424, referred to in the first sentence in Subsection D,
see
49 U.S.C. § 31111 et seq.
The 2021 amendment,
effective June 18, 2021, made conforming changes due to the transfer of certain authority from the department of public safety to the department of transportation; and in Subsection D, after "designated by the department", added "of transportation", after "by rule", deleted "or regulation with the concurrence of the New Mexico department of transportation", and after "The department of", deleted "public safety" and added "transportation".
The 2007 amendment,
effective July 1, 2007, provided that a bus may exceed a length of forty-five feet when operating on national networks highways and added Subsections E and F.
The 2001 amendment,
effective June 15, 2001, inserted "and no motor home shall exceed a length of forty-five feet extreme overall dimension" in Subsection B.
The 1993 amendment,
effective July 1, 1993, in Subsection D, substituted "fifty-seven feet six inches" for "forty-eight feet" near the end of the first sentence and "twenty-eight feet six inches" for "twenty-eight and one-half feet" at the end of the first sentence.
The 1991 amendment,
effective July 1, 1991, in Subsection B, deleted "Subsection C of" preceding "this section" at the end of the first sentence and added the second sentence; in Subsection C, designated formerly undesignated provisions as Paragraphs (1) to (3), deleted "No combination of vehicles, unless otherwise exempted in this section, shall exceed an overall length of sixty-five feet, exclusive of the front and rear bumpers" following Paragraph (3), added Paragraphs (4) to (6) and made a related stylistic change; deleted former Subsection D, relating to the exemption from application of former Subsection C of vehicles and trailers used by municipal refuse systems and farmers or ranchers; redesignated former Subsections E and F as Subsections D and E; and deleted "Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection C of this section and" at the beginning of Subsection D.
The 1989 amendment,
effective July 1, 1989, substituted the present provisions of Subsection A for "No vehicle including any load thereon shall exceed a height of thirteen feet six inches"; in Subsection B deleted "including any load thereon" preceding "shall"; and in Subsection E, substituted "state highway and transportation department" for "state highway department" near the middle of the first sentence, and "department" for "motor transportation department" near the middle of the first sentence and near the beginning of the second sentence
Laws 1989, ch. 52, § 1, effective June 16, 1989, also amended 66-7-404 NMSA 1978. The section was set out as amended by Laws 1989, ch. 318, § 33.
See
12-1-8 NMSA 1978.
No oversize permit required for articulated bus under 65 feet long.
— An articulated bus is a hybrid vehicle with the towing unit falling within the definition of motor vehicle and bus and the towed unit falling within the definition of semi-trailer. The combination of units being less than 65 feet in length, no oversize permit is required for operation of this vehicle. 1961 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 61-39.
Commission cannot legally issue permits for the movement
of trucks in driveaway-towaway saddle mount combinations of more than one towed vehicle. 1959 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 59-38.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references.
— 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic §§ 198, 791.
Violation of regulations governing size or weight of motor vehicles, or combinations of vehicles and loads, on the highway as basis of liability for personal injury, death, or damage to private property, 21 A.L.R.3d 989.
Federal regulation of tractor-trailer configuration under the Surface Transportation Act of 1982 (49 USCS Appx §§ 2301 et seq.), 77 A.L.R. Fed. 350.
60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles §§ 32, 43.