HOUSE BILL 399

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Rodolpho “Rudy” S. Martinez

AN ACT

RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLES; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE ACT TO PROVIDE FOR COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES TO ESTABLISH DESIGNATED OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLE ROUTES ON WHICH OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLES MAY OPERATE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 66-3-1011 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1975, Chapter 240, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:

     "66-3-1011. OPERATION ON STREETS OR HIGHWAYS--PROHIBITED AREAS.--

          A. A person shall not operate an off-highway motor vehicle on any:

                (1) limited access highway or freeway at any time; or

                (2) [any] paved street or highway except as provided in [Subsection B] Subsections B and C of this section.

          B. Off-highway motor vehicles may cross streets or highways, except limited access highways or freeways, if the crossings are made after coming to a complete stop prior to entering the roadway. Off-highway motor vehicles shall yield the right of way to oncoming traffic and shall begin a crossing only when it can be executed safely and then cross in the most direct manner as close to a perpendicular angle as possible.

          C. Off-highway motor vehicles may be operated on designated routes established by counties or municipalities with populations under one hundred thousand where those routes are signed with warning signs for off-highway motor vehicles and the signage is upright or painted on the surface. The designated routes may be shared with other modes of transport.

          [C.] D. A person shall not operate an off-highway motor vehicle on state game commission-owned, -controlled or -administered land except as specifically allowed pursuant to Chapter 17, Article 6 NMSA 1978.

          [D.] E. A person shall not operate an off-highway motor vehicle on land owned, controlled or administered by the state parks division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department, pursuant to Chapter 16, Article 2 NMSA 1978, except in areas designated by and permitted by rules adopted by the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources.

          [E.] F. Unless authorized, a person shall not:

                (1) remove, deface or destroy any official sign installed by a state, federal, local or private land management agency; or

                (2) install any off-highway motor vehicle-related sign."

     SECTION 2. Section 66-3-1012 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1978, Chapter 35, Section 208, as amended) is amended to read:

     "66-3-1012. DRIVING OF OFF-HIGHWAY MOTOR VEHICLES ADJACENT TO HIGHWAY.--

          A. Off-highway motor vehicles issued a validating sticker or nonresident permit may be driven adjacent to a highway, yielding to all vehicles entering or exiting the highway, in a manner so as not to interfere with traffic upon the highway, only for the purpose of gaining access to or returning from areas designed for the operation of off-highway motor vehicles by the shortest possible route and when no other route is available or when the area adjacent to a highway is being used as a staging area. Such use must occur between the highway and fencing that separates the highway from private or public lands or on a designated route for off-highway motor vehicle use.

          B. The secretary of transportation may specify off-highway motor vehicle routes along state highways.

          [B.] C. When snow conditions permit, an off-highway motor vehicle may be operated on the right-hand side of a highway, parallel, but not closer than ten feet, to the inside of the plow bank."

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