As used in the Child Helmet Safety Act:

Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 32A-24-2

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.

A. “bicycle” means a human-powered vehicle with two wheels in tandem designed to transport, by the act of pedaling, one or more persons seated on one or more saddle seats on its frame and includes an electric-assisted bicycle and a human-powered vehicle designed to transport by the act of pedaling, which has more than two wheels when the vehicle is used on a public roadway, public bicycle path or other public road or right of way, including a tricycle;

B. “electric-assisted bicycle” means a bicycle with fully operable pedals and an electric motor not exceeding seven hundred fifty watts of power;

C. “minor” means a person under eighteen years of age;

D. “operator” means a person under eighteen years of age who travels on a bicycle seated on a saddle seat from which that person is intended to and can pedal the bicycle, or who propels the person’s self by way of using inline skates, roller skates, a skateboard or a scooter;

E. “passenger” means a person under eighteen years of age who travels on a bicycle or scooter in any manner except as an operator;

F. “protective helmet” means a piece of headgear that meets or exceeds the impact standard for protective helmets set by the United States consumer product safety commission federal safety standard and those standards developed by the American national standards institute, the Snell memorial foundation or the American society for testing and materials;

G. “public bicycle path” means a right of way under the jurisdiction and control of the state or a local political subdivision for use primarily by bicyclists and pedestrians;

H. “public roadway” means a right of way under the jurisdiction and control of the state or a local political subdivision for use primarily by motor vehicular traffic;

I. “public skateboard park” means an area of public property set aside, designed and maintained for recreation by persons using bicycles, scooters, skateboards or skates;

J. “scooter” means a wheeled vehicle, regardless of the number or placement of those wheels, that has handlebars, designed to be stood on by the operator or passenger and used to glide or propel the operator or passenger over the ground;

K. “skateboard” means a set of wheels attached to a platform or flat surface, regardless of the number or placement of those wheels, and used to glide or propel the operator over the ground; and

L. “skates” means a pair of devices worn on the feet with a set of wheels attached and used to glide or propel the user over the ground and may be either inline or roller, but “skates” does not include a pair of devices, similar to a pair of common shoes, that has one or more wheels embedded in the sole of each device.