Section 65-5-1 - Vehicles to stop at ports of entry; information; inspection. - New Mexico Statutes

65-5-1. Vehicles to stop at ports of entry; information; inspection.

A.     All commercial motor carrier vehicles, as defined in the Motor Transportation Act [65-1-1 NMSA 1978], must enter, leave or travel through the state on designated highways and shall stop at every port of entry as designated by the division for manifesting and clearance stickers, except as provided in Subsection G of this section. 

B.     The operators of any motor vehicles described in Subsection A of this section shall, upon request, make out and deliver to the agent of the division a manifest showing that part of the following information requested: 

(1)     the name of the owner of the vehicle; 

(2)     the name of the operator or driver; 

(3)     the name of the forwarding or other company in whose service the vehicle is licensed; 

(4)     the license number; 

(5)     the state in which the vehicle has been granted a common or contract motor carrier permit, if any, and the number of the permit; 

(6)     the engine number; 

(7)     the serial number of the vehicle; 

(8)     a description of the vehicle; 

(9)     the point of origin of the shipment; 

(10)     the ultimate destination of the shipment; 

(11)     the gross vehicle weight of the vehicle and cargo; 

(12)     the factory list capacity or the actual capacity if rebuilt;  

(13)     the number of taxable miles to be traveled within the state; and 

(14)     the nature, amount and coverage of all public liability and other insurance carried upon the vehicle and upon the cargo thereon.   

The operator of the vehicle shall declare upon the manifest the name and number of the highways that the operator intends to use within the state and the place where the operator intends to leave the state if the point of final destination is outside the state.  The manifest shall be signed by the operator and filed with the person in charge of the port of entry.  The operator of the vehicle shall present for inspection to the person in charge of the port of entry a copy of the billing or invoice describing the contents of the cargo and the weight of the cargo. 

C.     The person in charge of the port of entry may verify the information contained upon the billing or invoice and shall check the license, permit, engine and serial numbers, weight and description of the vehicle.  The person shall inspect the vehicle and ascertain whether it is in safe and road-worthy condition, properly equipped with all lights, brakes and other appliances required by any statute of this state, in such condition as to be safe for operation upon the public highways of this state. 

D.     The person in charge of the port of entry may confirm the contents of the cargo and the weight thereof and is authorized to interview operators to obtain information in respect thereto and, if in doubt as to the declared gross weight, may order the cargo weighed before issuing any clearance certificate for the motor vehicle. 

E.     The person in charge of the port of entry may inspect the contents of the vehicle to determine whether all taxes on gasoline and motor fuel and excise taxes on alcoholic liquors and all taxes on any other property have been fully paid. 

F.     The person in charge of the port of entry may inspect the vehicle and its contents to determine whether all laws and all rules and regulations of the departments of this state with respect to public safety, health, welfare and comfort have been fully complied with. 

G.     An agricultural product transport vehicle is excluded from the requirements of Subsection A of this section if the agricultural product transport vehicle has cleared the port of entry at least once and has successfully passed a commercial vehicle safety alliance level 1 inspection during the current harvest season. 

H.     As used in this section, "agricultural product transport vehicle" means a motor vehicle, freight trailer or utility trailer or a combination thereof used exclusively for hauling agricultural products harvested in the field.