2021 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 66 - Motor Vehicles
Article 1 - General Provisions
Section 66-1-4.1 - Definitions. (Effective July 1, 2022.)

As used in the Motor Vehicle Code:

A. "abandoned vehicle" means a vehicle or motor vehicle that has been determined by a New Mexico law enforcement agency:

(1) to have been left unattended on either public or private property for at least thirty days;

(2) not to have been reported stolen;

(3) not to have been claimed by any person asserting ownership; and

(4) not to have been shown by normal record-checking procedures to be owned by any person;

B. "access aisle" means a space designed to allow a person with a significant mobility limitation to safely exit and enter a motor vehicle that is immediately adjacent to a designated parking space for persons with significant mobility limitation and that may be common to two such parking spaces of at least sixty inches in width or, if the parking space is designed for van accessibility, ninety-six inches in width, and clearly marked and maintained with blue striping and, after January 1, 2011, the words "NO PARKING" in capital letters, each of which shall be at least one foot high and at least two inches wide, placed at the rear of the access aisle so as to be close to where an adjacent vehicle's rear tires would be placed;

C. "actual empty weight" means the weight of a vehicle without a load;

D. "additional place of business", for dealers and auto recyclers, means locations in addition to an established place of business as defined in Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978 and meeting all the requirements of an established place of business, except Paragraph (5) of Subsection C of Section 66-1-4.5 NMSA 1978, but "additional place of business" does not mean a location used solely for storage and that is not used for wrecking, dismantling, sale or resale of vehicles;

E. "alcoholic beverages" means any and all distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin, aromatic bitters or any similar alcoholic beverage, including all blended or fermented beverages, dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing containing more than one-half percent alcohol but excluding medicinal bitters;

F. "authorized emergency vehicle" means any fire department vehicle, police vehicle and ambulance and any emergency vehicles of municipal departments or public utilities that are designated or authorized as emergency vehicles by the director of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety or local authorities;

G. "autocycle" means a three-wheeled motorcycle on which the driver and all passengers ride in a completely or partially enclosed seating area and that is manufactured to comply with all applicable federal standards, regulations and laws and is equipped with:

(1) non-straddle seating;

(2) rollover protection;

(3) safety belts for all occupants;

(4) antilock brakes;

(5) a steering wheel; and

(6) pedals;

H. "automated driving system" means the hardware and software that are collectively capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a sustained basis, regardless of whether it is limited to a specific operational design domain; "automated driving system" is used specifically to describe a level three, four or five driving automation system as defined in society of automotive engineers standard J3016, as published in the Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles;

I. "autonomous commercial motor vehicle" means a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in Subsection J of Section 66-1-4.3 NMSA 1978, that is being controlled by an automated driving system;

J. "autonomous motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is being controlled by an automated driving system;

K. "autonomous motor vehicle operator" means the person who engages the automated driving system of an autonomous motor vehicle or autonomous commercial motor vehicle;

L. "autonomous motor vehicle testing" or "autonomous commercial motor vehicle testing" means activities taken in full or in part to evaluate and assess:

(1) the automated driving system's performance of the dynamic driving task; and

(2) the automated driving system's performance with respect to applicable safety areas as defined by the federal national highway traffic safety administration for autonomous vehicle operations; and

M. "auto recycler" means a person engaged in this state in an established business that includes acquiring vehicles that are required to be registered under the Motor Vehicle Code for the purpose of dismantling, wrecking, shredding, compacting, crushing or otherwise destroying vehicles for reclaimable parts or scrap material to sell.

History: 1978 Comp., § 66-1-4.1, enacted by Laws 1990, ch. 120, § 2; 1999, ch. 297, § 4; 2005, ch. 324, § 1; 2007, ch. 319, § 2; 2010, ch. 74, § 2; 2011, ch. 78, § 1; 2015, ch. 53, § 2; 2017, ch. 54, § 1; 2021, ch. 114, § 1.

The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, defined "automated driving system", "autonomous commercial motor vehicle", "autonomous motor vehicle", "autonomous motor vehicle operator", and "autonomous motor vehicle testing", as used in the Motor Vehicle Code; and added new Subsections H through L and redesignated former Subsection H as Subsection M.