2021 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 | PENALTY |
| failure to possess a registration |
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| violations involving |
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| failure to possess an off-highway |
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| selling a vehicle that produces |
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| any violation of the Off-Highway |
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| CLASS 2 VIOLATIONS | SECTION | PENALTY |
| failure to complete a required |
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| operating a vehicle in excess |
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| a person under the age of |
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| operating an off-highway motor |
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| unauthorized installation, |
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| CLASS 3 VIOLATIONS | SECTION | PENALTY |
| operating a vehicle that is |
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| operating an off-highway |
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| operating an off-highway |
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| operating an off-highway |
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| operating a motor vehicle |
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| a person under the age of |
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| a person under the age of |
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| a person under the age of |
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| a person under the age of |
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| CLASS 4 VIOLATIONS | SECTION | PENALTY |
| operating an off-highway |
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| operating an off-highway |
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| operating an off-highway |
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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.
ANNOTATIONSThe 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.
