A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE MOTOR TRANSPORTATION DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM BY WHICH MOTORISTS CAN REPORT WINDSHIELD DAMAGE FROM TRUCKS CARRYING GRAVEL OR SIMILAR MATERIAL.

     WHEREAS, state law prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle in such a manner that a load in the vehicle, such as gravel, escapes from the vehicle; and

     WHEREAS, despite this prohibition, most New Mexico drivers can relate incidents of suffering windshield damage to their vehicles from gravel or similar material that falls from trucks; and

     WHEREAS, drivers on New Mexico's highways, including residents traveling to and from work and tourists traveling to and from tourist destinations, have every right to expect to be able to drive on the roads of the state without fear of incurring damage to their windshields; and

     WHEREAS, the legislature seeks to be better informed about the extent of the problem of vehicle windshield damage caused by material falling from trucks;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the motor transportation division of the department of public safety be requested to implement a program by which motorists who suffer windshield damage can report that damage to the division through a well-publicized, toll-free telephone number or other convenient means; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico trucking association be requested to ask its members, in a demonstration of a good faith effort to reduce the incidence of windshield damage, to assist in publicizing the means by which motorists can report windshield damage by posting signs to that effect that can be read from a distance of one hundred feet on the rear of vehicles that carry gravel and similar material; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the division be requested to report annually to the legislature the number of incidents of windshield damage reported, the carriers to which the damage is attributed and recommendations, if any, to reduce the number of incidents of windshield damage; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the motor transportation division.