Santa Fe, New Mexico

74

Legal · Workable · named in law

12 of 20 subjects verified

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Community · what riding here is like

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city record · part of New Mexico · Electric unicycle

What the law calls it

The law names this device.

Allowed, with conditions

equipped with one wheel and a motor of no more than seven hundred fifty (750) watts

Santa Fe UTO § 12-1-86.5 — "unicycle" and "electric unicycle" definition and the 750 W / 28 mph ceilingTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

The definition turns on: motor power, speed capability. Limits: 750 W max motor power · 28 mph max speed.

The law’s definition names a motor of no more than 750 W. The ordinance names no measurement basis — rated, continuous or peak. The law’s definition names a top speed of no more than 28 mph.

Where you can ride

Roads

Allowed, with conditions

The law names this device.

Operators of bicycles and unicycles have the same rights as operators of motor vehicles in the use of streets, highways and roadways within the city

Santa Fe UTO § 12-8-2 — operators of bicycles and unicycles have the same rights and duties as motor vehicle operatorsTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

  • Holding on to another vehicle while riding is prohibited. § 12-8-4: no clinging to vehicles.
  • Prohibited on roads where a sign says so. § 12-10-3.1: the traffic administrator may designate heavily travelled streets where unicycles are barred, with signage.

Sidewalks and footpaths

Allowed, with conditions

The law names this device.

No person shall ride a bicycle or unicycle on any sidewalk when signs are posted prohibiting the riding of bicycles or unicycles on the sidewalk

Santa Fe UTO § 12-8-15 — sidewalk riding allowed unless signs prohibit it; duty to yieldTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

  • Prohibited on sidewalks and footpaths where a sign says so.
  • On sidewalks and footpaths: 10 mph or under.
  • Give way to people walking.

Motorways and limited-access highways

Prohibited

The law names this device.

No pedestrian, bicycle, unicycle, or other non-motorized traffic shall use any controlled-access street

Santa Fe UTO § 12-6-2.16 — unicycles barred from controlled-access streetsTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

  • Prohibited on motorways and limited-access highways.

Shared paths

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

Rules of the ride

Speed limits

Allowed, with conditions

The law names this device.

Where riding on sidewalks is allowed, bicycles and unicycles shall be limited to ten (10) miles per hour

Santa Fe UTO § 12-8-10 — reasonable-and-prudent speed, and the 10 mph sidewalk capTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

The definition turns on: motor power, speed capability. Limits: 28 mph max speed · 750 W max motor power.

Helmets

Not required — no rule addresses it

The law names this device.

No helmet rule PEVRA can find reaches an electric unicycle rider here. The city's code mentions a helmet only as a place a light may be mounted (UTO § 12-8-7 A). The state Child Helmet Safety Act puts a duty on parents of riders under 18, but only for its own list — bicycle, skates, scooter, skateboard — and its definitions require pedals and a saddle (bicycle) or handlebars (scooter), which a unicycle has neither of. One reading is untested: a 2023 amendment made the Act’s “skateboard” wheel-count-agnostic (“a set of wheels attached to a platform … regardless of the number or placement of those wheels”), and PEVRA found no authority applying it to a one-wheeled self-balancing device. PEVRA’s advice does not change with the law: wear one.

It is unlawful for a parent or legal guardian of a minor to knowingly permit that minor to operate or be a passenger on a bicycle, skates, scooter or skateboard unless that minor wears a well-fitted protective bicycle helmet

NM Child Helmet Safety Act — definitions and the parent-liability helmet rule for an enumerated device listTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2026-03-15Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-31 · next review 2027-03-01

The definition turns on: enumerated list.

Minimum age

No minimum age — no rule sets one

The law names this device.

As introduced, the ordinance would have barred riders under 16 from a “Class 2” unicycle; the council struck the two-class scheme and the age ban by floor amendment before adopting it. The adopted code sets no minimum age for riding a unicycle — its under-16 rule reaches Class 3 electric bicycles only. State law is a separate question PEVRA has not yet verified.

delete “And to prohibit anyone under the age of sixteen from riding a class two electric unicycle”

Santa Fe Ordinance No. 2023-24 — floor amendment striking the two-class scheme and the under-16 banTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-31 · next review 2027-03-01

Lights, brakes and other equipment

Lamps and brakes required

The law names this device.

Every bicycle or unicycle shall be equipped with a brake or other means which will enable the operator to bring the bicycle or unicycle promptly to a stop on dry, level, clean pavement

Santa Fe UTO § 12-8-7 — lamps, reflector and brakeTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-30 · next review 2027-03-01

  • At night: a white front lamp visible at 500 ft, a red rear reflector. Rear red reflector visible from 50 to 300 feet; an optional rear red lamp visible 500 feet is permitted; a helmet-mounted white lamp may substitute for the frame lamp.
  • A working brake is required. § 12-8-7.B: a brake capable of stopping the device on dry, level, clean pavement. No stopping distance is specified.

Alcohol and drugs

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

Paperwork

Driver license

Not required — no rule addresses it

The law names this device.

The city’s traffic code removes electric unicycles from “motor vehicle”, the class a driver licence attaches to, and no section of the UTO requires a licence to ride one. State law is a separate question PEVRA has not yet verified.

every vehicle, except electric bicycles and electric unicycles, that is propelled by electric power obtained from batteries

Santa Fe UTO § 12-1-40 — "motor vehicle" as amended to carve out electric unicyclesTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-31 · next review 2027-03-01

Registration and plates

Not required — no rule addresses it

The law names this device.

The city’s traffic code removes electric unicycles from “motor vehicle”, the class registration and plates attach to, and no section of the UTO requires registering a unicycle. State law is a separate question PEVRA has not yet verified.

every vehicle, except electric bicycles and electric unicycles, that is propelled by electric power obtained from batteries

Santa Fe UTO § 12-1-40 — "motor vehicle" as amended to carve out electric unicyclesTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-31 · next review 2027-03-01

Insurance

Not required — no rule addresses it

The law names this device.

The Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act — New Mexico’s insurance requirement — attaches to motor vehicles, and the city’s traffic code removes electric unicycles from that class. No section of the UTO requires insurance to ride one. State law is a separate question PEVRA has not yet verified.

every vehicle, except electric bicycles and electric unicycles, that is propelled by electric power obtained from batteries

Santa Fe UTO § 12-1-40 — "motor vehicle" as amended to carve out electric unicyclesTier A — the jurisdiction’s own official publicationLaw as of 2023-08-30Archived copy

Verified by Jesse Garnier on 2026-08-31 · next review 2027-03-01

Sale and certification

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

Carrying and teaching

Taking it on public transport

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

Charging on board

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

Teaching and instruction

Not yet verified — help us

No verified definition yet.

PEVRA has no verified entry for this yet. We say so rather than guess.

What “not yet verified” means

The street as ridden

Chalk, not paint. This zone holds what riders and agencies report about how riding here actually goes — letters, video, stops. A report is never a verdict: the law above stands on its own evidence, and nothing written here changes it.

No reports on file for Santa Fe yet. PEVRA collects written evidence — a letter from a sheriff, a recorded stop, a rider’s account — and publishes counts, never rates. Have one from Santa Fe? Send it through the corrections form while report intake is built.

A status here is a reading of the words the law actually uses, not a prediction about whether anyone will stop you. Where a definition was written by shape — “two nontandem wheels”, “handlebars”, “a floorboard” — a one-wheeled device often falls out of every class the law wrote and into the leftover “motor vehicle” class, which it can never register for. That drafting accident, not a policy choice, is what most of these pages record. How PEVRA verifies.

This page is legal information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Nothing here should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. PEVRA does not warrant that this information is complete or accurate and disclaims all liability for any loss caused by errors or omissions. Laws change; check the 'as of' date and the official source linked on every claim.

Page data as of 2026-08-31 · git c35aac7