N.M. Stat. » Chapter 66 — Motor Vehicles
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1020 (2026)

Penalties

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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 VIOLATED ASSESSMENT failure to possess a registration certificate or nonresident permit 66-3-1010.3 $10.00 violations involving headlights or taillights 66-3-1010.3 10.00 failure to possess an off-highway motor vehicle safety permit 66-3-1010.3 10.00 selling a vehicle that produces noise in excess of ninety-six decibels 66-3-1010.3 10.00 any violation of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act not otherwise specifically defined elsewhere in this section 66-3-1010.3 10.00 CLASS 2 VIOLATIONS SECTION PENALTY VIOLATED ASSESSMENT failure to complete a required off-highway motor vehicle safety training course 66-3-1010.2 $50.00 operating a vehicle in excess of ten miles per hour within two hundred feet of a business, animal shelter, horseback rider, bicyclist, pedestrian, livestock or occupied dwelling 66-3-1010.3 50.00 a person under the age of eighteen but at least fifteen years of age who operates an off-highway motor vehicle in violation of the supervision requirements of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act 66-3-1010.3 50.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle that produces noise that exceeds ninety-six decibels 66-3-1010.3 50.00 unauthorized installation, removal, destruction or defacing 66-3-1011 50.00 of a motor vehicle sign CLASS 3 VIOLATIONS SECTION PENALTY VIOLATED ASSESSMENT operating a vehicle that is not equipped with an approved spark arrester 66-3-1010.3 $100.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle while in pursuit of and with intent to hunt or take a species of animal or bird protected by law, unless otherwise authorized by the state game commission 66-3-1010.3 100.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle in pursuit of or harassment of livestock in any manner that negatively affects the livestock's condition 66-3-1010.3 100.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle on or within an earthen tank or other structure meant to water livestock or wildlife 66-3-1010.3 100.00 operating a motor vehicle in a manner that has a direct negative effect on or interferes with persons engaged in agricultural practices 66-3-1010.3 100.00 a person under the age of eighteen operating an off-highway motor vehicle without wearing eye protection and a safety helmet 66-3-1010.3 100.00 a person under the age of eighteen operating an off-highway motor vehicle while carrying a passenger 66-3-1010.3 100.00 a person under the age of fifteen but at least ten years of age who operates an off-highway motor vehicle in violation of the supervision requirements of the Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Act 66-3-1010.3 100.00 a person under the age of ten operating an all-terrain vehicle or recreational off- highway motor vehicle that is not an age-appropriate size-fit or who operates an off-highway motor vehicle in violation of the supervision requirements 66-3-1010.3 100.00 of this section CLASS 4 VIOLATIONS SECTION PENALTY VIOLATED ASSESSMENT operating an off-highway motor vehicle in a careless, reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the person or property of another 66-3-1010.3 $200.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle on any road or area closed to off- highway motor vehicle traffic under local, state or federal regulations 66-3-1010.3 200.00 operating an off-highway motor vehicle on a limited-access highway or freeway 66-3-1011 200.00.

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.

ANNOTATIONS

The 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.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 2011–2015 · leading case: State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062.
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State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062. · cites it 14× “He also observes that neither the title nor the content of the penalty provisions of Section 66-3-1020 refers to the DWI statute or any other part of the Motor Vehicle Code.”
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062, 2 N.M. 75. · cites it 15× “{1} The issue before us is whether the district court was correct in imposing the penalty for Defendant’s offense of driving an off-road vehicle while intoxicated (DWI) underNMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102 (2008) (amended 2010) (DWI statute), or should the court have utilized the…”
State v. Bernard, 2015-NMCA-089, 8 N.M. Ct. App. 440. “12 § 66-3-1(C); § 66-3-1020. Protection of personal property interests in vehicles is one 13 of the primary purposes of this statutory design.”
State v. Cale, No. 30,006 (N.M. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 2011). · cites it 10× “]”1 1 18 This reference to the Motor Vehicle Code in Section 66-3-1020(A) (2005) 19 does not exist in the current version of Section 66-3-1020 (2009). 7 1 While acknowledging that Section 66-3-1020(A) (2005) specifically exempts 2 violations that are declared to be a felony…”
N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1020(A): 2 cases
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062. “He also observes that neither the title nor the content of the penalty provisions of Section 66-3-1020 refers to the DWI statute or any other part of the Motor Vehicle Code.”
State v. Cale, No. 30,006 (N.M. Ct. App. Aug. 17, 2011). “]”1 1 18 This reference to the Motor Vehicle Code in Section 66-3-1020(A) (2005) 19 does not exist in the current version of Section 66-3-1020 (2009). 7 1 While acknowledging that Section 66-3-1020(A) (2005) specifically exempts 2 violations that are declared to be a felony…”
N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1020(B): 2 cases
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062. “He also observes that neither the title nor the content of the penalty provisions of Section 66-3-1020 refers to the DWI statute or any other part of the Motor Vehicle Code.”
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062, 2 N.M. 75. “{1} The issue before us is whether the district court was correct in imposing the penalty for Defendant’s offense of driving an off-road vehicle while intoxicated (DWI) underNMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102 (2008) (amended 2010) (DWI statute), or should the court have utilized the…”
N.M. Stat. § 66-3-1020(E): 2 cases
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062. “He also observes that neither the title nor the content of the penalty provisions of Section 66-3-1020 refers to the DWI statute or any other part of the Motor Vehicle Code.”
State v. Natoni, 2012-NMCA-062, 2 N.M. 75. “{1} The issue before us is whether the district court was correct in imposing the penalty for Defendant’s offense of driving an off-road vehicle while intoxicated (DWI) underNMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102 (2008) (amended 2010) (DWI statute), or should the court have utilized the…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.