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As a state legislator, I was proud to serve the people of New Mexico from 1998 to 2002. As a commissioner at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, I am disappointed in the choice the New Mexico Legislature has made to pass SB 270 and allow vehicles, such as all-terrain and recreational off-highway vehicles that are purpose-built for off-road use – to the point of being inherently unsafe on paved surfaces – on New Mexico’s roads.

Why are off-road vehicles inappropriate for on-road use? It is not simply a question of the name. They are designed and built with features – such as low-pressure tires and solid rear axles – that help them grip unstable, uneven terrain. They also have narrow wheelbases that are designed to help riders swerve through tight gaps and navigate narrow trails.

On pavement, however, the tires’ grip produces too much traction, and the solid rear axle encourages skidding, rather than turning.

This increases the odds that a turn will become a tip.

When that tip meets the high center of gravity that naturally comes with a narrow wheelbase, the tip can easily become a tip-over.

Once an ATV or an ROV tips over, the odds of serious or fatal injury are very high.

This is not just theoretical physics. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data show that in the last 10 years, more than 20 people have died while riding ATVs on New Mexico roads. Half of those deaths have come in just the last three years and include children as young as 5.

Those grim statistics – and the tragedies behind them – are why the commission, user groups, consumer advocates and the companies who make these vehicles all agree on one key point: They have no business being used on roads.

In order to lawfully ride on the roads, SB 270 would require riders to wear helmets and ride vehicles equipped with features like headlights and mirrors. No helmet will prevent a rider’s spine from being crushed by half a ton of overturned ATV, and all the headlights and mirrors in the world will only help an injured rider see the world upside down.

As a proud, lifelong Republican, I believe wholeheartedly in personal liberty and freedom of choice. However, I also believe wholeheartedly that liberty and choice must be exercised responsibly. Using these vehicles on public roadways is an intrinsically dangerous choice, and it exposes not only the rider but every New Mexican on the roadways to risks that simply cannot be mitigated.

The state should not be in the business of enabling such irresponsible behavior.

I also fully appreciate the tireless work of New Mexico’s agriculture community, whose members want to be able to use these vehicles to go from field to field and farm to farm. That goal, however, can be met by enacting a limited exemption for short-duration, bona fide agricultural use.

It is unnecessary, unsafe, and unwise to open the roads wholesale to vehicles that do not belong there.

I urge Gov. Susana Martinez to veto this well-meaning but misguided bill and protect the people I served in the Legislature and continue to serve at the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Joseph P. Mohorovic served in the N.M. House of Representatives as a Republican from Albuquerque.