BernCo commissioners vote to prohibit off-highway vehicles on county roads, highways

BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. – Bernalillo County commissioners have voted to prohibit off-highway vehicles from using established county roads and highways.

Commissioners changed the existing ordinance, redefining an off-highway vehicle and re-establishing where and how these vehicles can be used and ridden.

Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada sponsored the ordinance update following the death of 7-year-old Pronoy Bhattachaya. The boy was struck and killed by the driver of an off-road vehicle.

“It’s a shame it takes tragedy like this for the community to react and reassess citizen safety,” Quezada said. “But the county is stepping up and updating its ordinance so that, hopefully, this kind of awful accident doesn’t happen again.”

The ordinance aligns with state laws regarding off-road vehicles and punishment for those caught violating the ordinance.

Once signed by commissioners, the ordinance will be posted to the county website. All county ordinances can be viewed here.

The ordinance changes were approved by the County Commission on a 5-0 vote.