New Mexico Statutes
N.M. Stat. § 66-5-42 (2026)
Employing unlicensed driver
✓ laws through the 2025 session (retrieved May 2026)
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No person shall employ as a driver of a motor vehicle any person not licensed as provided in this article.
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-5-42, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 264.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references. — For offenses by persons owning or controlling vehicles, see 66-8- 121 NMSA 1978.
Duty to the motoring public. — This section expresses the public policy that an employer has a duty to the motoring public to use due care in the hiring and retention of employees who operate vehicles in the scope of their employment. Lessard v. Coronado Paint & Decorating Ctr., Inc., 2007-NMCA-122, 142 N.M. 583, 168 P.3d 155, cert. granted, 2007-NMCERT-009, 142 N.M. 715, 169 P.3d 408.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2
cases, 2007–2007 · leading case: Lessard v. Coronado Paint & Decorating Ctr., Inc., 2007-NMCA-122, 168 P.3d 155.
Lessard v. Coronado Paint & Decorating Ctr., Inc., 2007-NMCA-122, 168 P.3d 155. “{33} We agree with Coronado that Lessard failed to make any argument based on Section 66-5-42 in the court below. This failure, however, does not preclude us from considering whether Section 66-5-42 and the public policy expressed therein provides support for a duty in this case.”
Lessard v. Coronado, 168 P.3d 155 (N.M. Ct. App. 2007). “As we discuss below, we conclude that Section 66-5-42 supports the existence of a duty to protect the motoring public; whether the scope of that duty includes investigation into Fennell's driving capabilities or licensing, under these circumstances, is a question for the jury.”
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