2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles
Article 5 - Licensing of Operators and Chauffeurs; Financial Responsibility; Uninsured Motorists' Insurance; Identification Cards
Section 66-5-8 - Provisional licenses; instruction permits; driver education students; temporary licenses.

A. A person fifteen years and six months of age or older may apply to the division for a provisional license if the person:

(1) has completed a driver education course approved by the bureau that includes a DWI prevention and education component;

(2) has had an instruction permit for at least six months; provided that thirty days shall be added to the six months for each adjudication or conviction of a traffic violation committed during the time the person was driving with an instruction permit;

(3) has not been cited for a traffic violation that is pending at the time of application; and

(4) has successfully completed a practice driving component.

B. Successful completion of a practice driving component shall include not less than fifty hours of actual driving by the applicant, including not less than ten hours of night driving. An applicant for a provisional license who cannot drive at night due to low nighttime vision may be exempted from the night driving requirement of this subsection; provided that the applicant submits to the division an ophthalmologic or optometric report from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist who attests to the applicant's visual condition and its effect on the applicant's driving ability. The applicant's parent or guardian shall certify that the applicant has completed the practice driving component.

C. When operating a motor vehicle, a provisional licensee may be accompanied by not more than one passenger under the age of twenty-one who is not a member of the licensee's immediate family. A provisional license entitles the licensee, while having the license in the licensee's immediate possession, to operate a motor vehicle upon the public highways between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and midnight unless the provisional licensee is eligible for a license restricting driving to daylight hours. A provisional licensee may drive at any hour unless otherwise restricted as provided in this subsection if:

(1) accompanied by a licensed driver who is twenty-one years of age or older;

(2) required by family necessity as evidenced by a signed statement of a parent or guardian;

(3) required by medical necessity as evidenced by a signed statement from medical personnel;

(4) driving to and from work as evidenced by a signed statement from the licensee's employer;

(5) driving to and from school or a religious activity as evidenced by a signed statement of a school or religious official or a parent or guardian; or

(6) required due to a medical emergency.

D. A provisional license shall be in such form as to be readily distinguishable from an unrestricted driver's license and shall contain an indication that the licensee may drive without supervision.

E. A person fifteen years of age or older who is enrolled in and attending or has completed a driver education course approved by the bureau that includes a DWI prevention and education component may apply to the division for an instruction permit. The division, in its discretion after the applicant has successfully passed all parts of the examination other than the driving test, may issue to the applicant an instruction permit. This permit entitles the applicant, while having the permit in the applicant's immediate possession, to drive a motor vehicle upon the public highways when accompanied by a licensed driver who is twenty-one years of age or older, who has been licensed for at least three years in this state or in another state and who is occupying a seat beside the driver except in the event the permittee is operating a motorcycle.

F. A person fifteen years of age or older who is a student enrolled in and attending a driver education course that is approved by the bureau and that includes both a DWI education and prevention component and practice driving component may drive a motor vehicle on the highways of this state even though the person has not reached the legal age to be eligible for a driver's license or a provisional license. In completing the practice driving component, a person may only operate a motor vehicle on a public highway if:

(1) an approved instructor is occupying a seat beside the person; or

(2) a licensed driver who is twenty-one years of age or older and who has been licensed for at least three years in this state or another state is occupying a seat beside the person.

G. The division in its discretion may issue a temporary driver's permit to an applicant for a driver's license permitting the applicant to operate a motor vehicle while the division is completing its investigation and determination of all facts relative to the applicant's right to receive a driver's license. The permit shall be in the applicant's immediate possession while operating a motor vehicle, and it shall be invalid when the applicant's license has been issued or for good cause has been refused.

H. A holder of an instruction permit for a motorcycle shall not carry any other passenger while operating a motorcycle.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-5-8, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 230; 1981, ch. 361, § 22; 1993, ch. 68, § 40; 1999, ch. 175, § 3; 2005, ch. 29, § 1; 2011, ch. 143, § 3.

Cross references. — For driver training schools, see 66-10-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.

For approved driver education courses, see 22-13-12 NMSA 1978.

The 2011 amendment, effective June 17, 2011, in Subsection A, required that thirty days be added to the six-month period of an instruction permit for each traffic violation committed during the period the licensee was driving with an instruction permit; prohibited the issuance of a provisional license to a person who has a pending traffic citation at the time of application; and eliminated the restriction on the issuance of provisional licenses to persons who have been convicted of a traffic violation that was committed within the ninety-day period prior to applying for the license.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, provided that an applicant for a provisional license who cannot drive at night due to low nighttime vision, may be exempted from the night driving requirement if the applicant submits a report from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist who attests to the applicants visual condition.

The 1999 amendment, effective January 1, 2000, added "Provisional licenses" and "Driver education students" in the section heading; added Subsections A through C, deleted former Subsection B, relating to restricted licenses, and redesignated the subsequent subsections accordingly; in Subsection D inserted "or has completed" in the first sentence, inserted the language beginning "twenty-one" and ending "state and" in the last sentence, and deleted the former last sentence, relating to the renewal of an instructional permit; rewrote Subsection E, and added Paragraph (2) therein; and made minor stylistic changes.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, inserted "who is enrolled in and attending a driver education course that includes a DWI prevention and education program approved by the bureau or offered by a public school" in the first sentence of Subsection A; inserted "and attending a driver education course that is approved by the bureau or offered by a public school that includes both a DWI education and prevention component and practice driving" in the first sentence of Subsection B; and made minor stylistic changes throughout the section.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 108.

Liability, for personal injury or property damage, for negligence in teaching or supervision of learning driver, 5 A.L.R.3d 271.

60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 153.