2020 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 9 - EQUIPMENT
Section 66-3-846 - Windshields must be unobstructed and equipped with wipers; windows must be transparent; exception.
A. No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sign, poster or other nontransparent material upon or in the front windshield, the windows to the immediate right and left of the driver or the rearmost window if the latter is used for driving visibility, except as provided in Section 66-3-846.1 NMSA 1978. The rearmost window is not necessary for driving visibility where outside rearview mirrors are attached to the vehicle.
B. The windshield on every motor vehicle except a motorcycle shall be equipped with a device for cleaning rain, snow or other moisture from the windshield, which device shall be so constructed as to be controlled or operated by the driver of the vehicle.
C. Every windshield wiper upon a motor vehicle shall be maintained in good working order.
D. A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a penalty assessment misdemeanor.
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-3-846, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 152; 1997, ch. 151, § 1; 2018, ch. 74, § 32.
ANNOTATIONSThe 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, provided a penalty for any violation of this section, and made technical changes; and added Subsection D.
The 1997 amendment, effective July 1, 1997, added "exception" to the section heading and added the exception at the end of the first sentence in Subsection A.
Sign attached to trailer — A lighted plastic advertising sign, approximately four feet-four inches in length and two feet-three inches in height, to be installed on the front of a trailer and held by braces is permissible as long as the sign does not obstruct the view of the driver. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-89.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic §§ 185, 803.
60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 26; 60A C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 260.
