It is unlawful and, unless otherwise declared in the Motor Vehicle Code [66-1-1
NMSA 1978] with respect to particular offenses, it is a misdemeanor for any person to
do any act forbidden or fail to perform any act required in Article 7 of Chapter 66 NMSA
1978.
History: 1953 Comp., § 64-7-3, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 373.
ANNOTATIONS
Cross references. — For the penalty for a misdemeanor, see 66-8-7 NMSA 1978.
For duty of driver to take precautions when approaching blind person, see 28-7-4 NMSA
1978.
Section subject to assimilation under federal law. — The offenses described by
Section 66-5-39 NMSA 1978 (driving while license suspended), 66-8-102 NMSA 1978
(driving while under the influence) and this section (violation of traffic laws) are all
criminal offenses, and, as such, the applicable sentences are assimilated for offenses
committed on military installations within the state under the Assimilative Crimes Act, 18
U.S.C. § 13. United States v. Adams, 140 F.3d 895 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S.
895, 119 S. Ct. 219, 142 L. Ed. 2d 180 (1998).
Enforcement outside jurisdiction. — A municipal officer does not have the authority
to enforce the Motor Vehicle Code outside the city limits of the municipality. 1988 Op.
Att'y Gen. No. 88-77.
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and
Highway Traffic § 204.
Entrapment to commit traffic offense, 34 A.L.R.4th 1167.
60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 25.
Automated traffic enforcement systems. 26 A.L.R.6th 179.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
6
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1998–2023 · leading case:
United States v. Adams, 140 F.3d 895 (10th Cir. 1998).
United States v. Adams, 140 F.3d 895 (10th Cir. 1998).
“§§ 66-5-39 (driving while license suspended or revoked is a misdemeanor) and 66-8-102 (driving while under the influence is a misdemeanor and fourth conviction is a felony); N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-7-3 (violations of traffic laws are misdemeanors).”
State v. Wolf, No. A-1-CA-36358 A-1-CA-36359 (N.M. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2017).
· cites it 4× “]” NMSA 1978, Section 66-7-3 (1978), entitled “Required obedience to traffic 11 laws,” states: “It is unlawful and, unless otherwise declared in the Motor Vehicle Code 12 .”
Bey v. Magistrate Court, No. 2:22-cv-00928 (D.N.M. Feb. 2, 2023).
· cites it 3× “See N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-7-3 (E) ("Failure to comply with Subsection C of this section [to carry evidence of financial responsibility in the vehicle at all times while the vehicle is in operation on the highways of New Mexico] is a misdemeanor"); N.”
Bey v. State of New Mexico, No. 2:22-cv-00790 (D.N.M. Dec. 20, 2022).
· cites it 2× “§ 66-7-3 (“Required obedience to traffic laws.”
State v. Ramirez, No. 28,481 (N.M. Ct. App. Apr. 5, 2010).
· cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 66-7-3 (1978). 19 Finally, drivers are required to carry their licenses while operating a motor vehicle and 6 1 to produce them upon demand by an officer.”
State v. Boynton, No. 33,373 (N.M. Ct. App. June 29, 2015).
“It is immaterial that the violation of the traffic code that the 16 officer observed was a parking violation.”
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.