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Santa Fe, NM (KKOB) – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed into law a bill that requires student drivers to take at least three hours of training on “vulnerable road users,” which include bicyclists, pedestrians, first responders and tow trucks. The new law will take effect on Jan. 1.
The Albuquerque Journal has reported that the bill sponsor Sen. Heather Berghmans, said she got the idea for the legislation after meeting with Melinda Montoya, the mother of the late teen Kayla VanLandingham who was killed in July while she was riding her bike home in Northeast Albuquerque.
In a message sent to the Senate on Monday, Lujan Grisham said while SB 73 “is a good start to achieving safer roads,” more needs to be done.
New Mexico ranks 10th in the country in traffic fatalities with almost 40% of those fatalities involving a vulnerable road user. The Governor hopes this is just the beginning in reducing a serious problem around the state. She feels that more can be done such as more requirements around renewing a license, raising the minimum age of those eligible to receive a license, or harsher penalties around distracted or reckless driving.
