A. Except as provided by Subsection D of this section, the gross weight imposed on the highway by the wheels of any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed twenty-one thousand six hundred pounds nor shall any one wheel carry a load in excess of eleven thousand pounds.

B. For the purposes of Sections 66-7-401 through 66-7-416 NMSA 1978, a single-axle load is defined as the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers are included between two parallel transverse vertical planes forty inches or less apart extending across the full width of the vehicle. A tandem axle load is defined as the total load transmitted to the road by all wheels whose centers are included between two parallel transverse vertical planes more than forty inches apart but less than one hundred twenty inches apart, extending across the full width of the vehicle. The allowed load on tandem axles shall not exceed the gross weight given in Section 66-7-410 NMSA 1978 for the respective distance between the axles.

C. No wheel equipped with pneumatic, solid rubber or cushion tires shall carry a load in excess of six hundred pounds for each inch of tire width. The width of pneumatic tires shall be taken at the manufacturer's rating. The width of solid rubber and cushion tires shall be measured at the flange of the rim.

D. The division shall by rule establish standard weight limits for the wheels of any one vehicle axle and any one wheel that allow for the gross weight limitation increases authorized for natural gas vehicles.

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-7-409, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 480; 1993, ch. 328, § 5; 2016, ch. 70, § 2.

Cross references. — For definitions of "pneumatic tire" and "solid tire", see 66-1-4.14 NMSA 1978 and 66-1-4.16 NMSA 1978, respectively.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, required the motor transportation division to establish rules to provide for exemptions for natural gas vehicles from the statutory limitations on the amount of gross weight allowable for wheels, axles and loads; in Subsection A, added "Except as provided by Subsection D of this section"; and added a new Subsection D.

The 1993 amendment, effective July 1, 1993, deleted "nor shall a tandem axle, as hereinafter defined, carry a load in excess of thirty-four thousand three hundred twenty pounds" from the end of Subsection A; and, in Subsection B, divided the former first sentence into the present first and second sentences by deleting "and" and making a punctuation change, substituted "66-7-401 through 66-7-416 NMSA 1978" for "64-7-401 through 64-7-416 NMSA 1953" in the first sentence, made stylistic changes in the first and second sentences, and added the last sentence.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic §§ 171, 196, 791.

Power to limit weight of vehicle or its load with respect to use of streets or highways, 75 A.L.R.2d 376.

Violation of regulation governing size or weight of motor vehicle, or combinations of vehicles and loads, on the highway as basis of liability for personal injury, death, or damage to private property, 21 A.L.R.3d 989.

Liability for damaging highway or bridge by nature or weight of vehicles or loads transported over it, 53 A.L.R.3d 1035, 31 A.L.R.5th 171.

60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles §§ 32, 43; 61A C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 685.