Electric Cars on the Books in New Mexico

Electric Cars on the Books in New Mexico

By Dan Shingler
Albequerque Tribune Reporter

The slow lane might be the clean lane in New Mexico: Electric cars are now legal on some streets.

Gov. Bill Richardson, back from the winter meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C., signed three bills Tuesday, including a measure that makes it OK to drive electric cars on streets with speed limits of 35 mph or less.

Environmentalists supported the bill and were pleased with the signing.

"We strongly supported the bill," said Benjamin Luce, state coordinator for the Coalition For Clean Affordable Energy. "It paves the way for the widespread emergence of electric vehicles."

The bill applies to cars with a top speed between 20 mph and 25 mph. That applies to many golf carts, but Luce said golf carts are just the precursors of more elaborate vehicles to come - "the Model T of the genre."

"There are a number of more interesting electric cars on the market," he said. Luce predicted sophisticated single- and multi-passenger electric vehicles will begin appearing on New Mexico roads now that they're legal.