2023 New Mexico Statutes › Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles › Article 3 - Registration Laws; Security Interests; Anti-Theft Provisions; Bicycles; Equipment; Unsafe Vehicles; Off-Highway Motor Vehicles; Other Vehicles › Part 11 - OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLES › Section 66-3-1020 - Penalties.

A. A person who violates the provisions of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act is guilty of a penalty assessment misdemeanor. A parent, guardian or custodian who causes or knowingly permits a child under the age of eighteen years to operate an off-highway motor vehicle in violation of the provisions of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act is in violation of that act and subject to the same penalty as the child operating the off-highway motor vehicle in violation of that act.
B. As used in the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act, "penalty assessment misdemeanor" means violation of any provision of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act for which a violator may be subject to the following:
CLASS 1 VIOLATIONS
SECTION
VIOLATED
PENALTY
ASSESSMENT
failure to possess a registration
certificate or nonresident permit
66-3-1010.3
$10.00
violations involving
headlights or taillights
66-3-1010.3
10.00
failure to possess an off-highway
motor vehicle safety permit
66-3-1010.3
10.00
selling a vehicle that produces
noise in excess of
ninety-six decibels
66-3-1010.3
10.00
any violation of the Off-Highway
Motor Vehicle Act not
otherwise specifically defined
elsewhere in this section
66-3-1010.3
10.00
CLASS 2 VIOLATIONS
SECTION
VIOLATED
PENALTY
ASSESSMENT
failure to complete a required
off-highway motor vehicle
safety training course
66-3-1010.2
$50.00
operating a vehicle in excess
of ten miles per hour within
two hundred feet of a business,
animal shelter, horseback
rider, bicyclist, pedestrian,
livestock or occupied dwelling
66-3-1010.3
50.00
a person under the age of
eighteen but at least
fifteen years of age who
operates an off-highway
motor vehicle in violation
of the supervision requirements
of the Off-Highway Motor
Vehicle Act
66-3-1010.3
50.00
operating an off-highway motor
vehicle that produces noise
that exceeds ninety-six
decibels
66-3-1010.3
50.00
unauthorized installation,
removal, destruction or defacing
of a motor vehicle sign
66-3-1011
50.00
CLASS 3 VIOLATIONS
SECTION
VIOLATED
PENALTY
ASSESSMENT
operating a vehicle that is
not equipped with an approved
spark arrester
66-3-1010.3
$100.00
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle while in
pursuit of and with
intent to hunt or take
a species of animal or bird
protected by law, unless
otherwise authorized by
the state game commission
66-3-1010.3
100.00
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle in pursuit of
or harassment of livestock
in any manner that negatively
affects the livestock's
condition
66-3-1010.3
100.00
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle on or within
an earthen tank or other
structure meant to water
livestock or wildlife
66-3-1010.3
100.00
operating a motor vehicle
in a manner that has a
direct negative effect on
or interferes with persons
engaged in agricultural
practices
66-3-1010.3
100.00
a person under the age of
eighteen operating an
off-highway motor vehicle
without wearing eye
protection and a safety
helmet
66-3-1010.3
100.00
a person under the age of
eighteen operating an
off-highway motor vehicle
while carrying a passenger
66-3-1010.3
100.00
a person under the age of
fifteen but at least ten
years of age who operates
an off-highway motor vehicle
in violation of the supervision
requirements of the Off-Highway
Motor Vehicle Act
66-3-1010.3
100.00
a person under the age of
ten operating an all-terrain
vehicle or recreational off-highway
motor vehicle that is not an
age-appropriate size-fit or
who operates an off-highway
motor vehicle in violation
of the supervision requirements
of this section
66-3-1010.3
100.00
CLASS 4 VIOLATIONS
SECTION
VIOLATED
PENALTY
ASSESSMENT
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle in a
careless, reckless or
negligent manner so as
to endanger the person
or property of another
66-3-1010.3
$200.00
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle on any road
or area closed to off- highway
motor vehicle traffic under
local, state or federal regulations
66-3-1010.3
200.00
operating an off-highway
motor vehicle on a
limited-access highway
or freeway
66-3-1011
200.00.
C. The penalty for second, third and subsequent violations within a three-year time period shall be increased as follows:
(1) a second violation in a class 1 penalty category involving failure to possess a registration certificate or nonresident permit shall be increased to a class 2 penalty category;
(2) any class 2 or class 3 violation for a second or greater infraction within a three-year period shall be increased to the next-highest penalty assessment category; and
(3) each subsequent violation in a class 4 penalty category will result in an additional penalty of two hundred dollars ($200).
D. Multiple violations for the same incident shall be treated as a single event and shall not result in graduated penalties.
E. The term "penalty assessment misdemeanor" does not include a violation that has caused or contributed to the cause of an accident resulting in injury or death to a person.
F. When an alleged violator of a penalty assessment misdemeanor elects to accept a notice to appear in lieu of a notice of penalty assessment, a fine imposed upon later conviction shall not exceed the penalty assessment established for the particular penalty assessment misdemeanor, and probation imposed upon a suspended or deferred sentence shall not exceed ninety days.
History:
Laws 2005, ch. 325, § 22; 2009, ch. 53, § 12.
ANNOTATIONS
The 2009 amendment,
effective April 1, 2009, in Subsection A, deleted the former language which provided that unless the violation is a felony, a petty misdemeanor or a citation under the Motor Vehicle Code, the violation was a misdemeanor and added the last sentence; in Subsection B, deleted language which provided that when a person is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor, the court may order the person to complete a safety training program and completely rewrote Subsection B; and added Subsections C, D, E and F.
Application to driving an off-road vehicle while intoxicated.
— Section 66-8-102 NMSA 1978 governs the punishment of the offense of driving an off-road vehicle while intoxicated, not Section 66-3-1020 NMSA of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act.
State v. Natoni
, 2012-NMCA-062, 280 P.3d 304, cert. denied, 2012-NMCERT-005.
Where defendant, who was driving an off-road vehicle on a public road while intoxicated, crashed into a telephone pole; a passenger in the off-road vehicle was injured in the collision; and defendant pled no contest to DWI under Section 66-3-101 NMSA 1978 of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act, defendant's sentence was governed by Section 66-8-102 NMSA 1978, not by Section 66-3-1020 NMSA 1978 of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act.
State v. Natoni
, 2012-NMCA-062, 280 P.3d 304, cert. denied, 2012-NMCERT-005.