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Law regarding passengers in bed....

gn85

gn85

Full Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2006
Messages
1,212
Location
Maryland/ Germany
I was just thinking about my beloved Av and something I haven't done yet with it is have passengers in the bed (except a very short ride with the neighbors dogs).  Anyways, I started thinking about the laws in Maryland regarding passengers in the bed.

Law says, you can have passengers in the bed provided the cabin is full and the passengers in the bed have their backs against the cab wall.  No children in the bed (Hear that Michael Jackson?).

So what about the Av with the midgate down?  There's no longer a 'wall'.  Plus passengers are sitting in the bed, but INSIDE the vehicle.  Obviously something the lawmakers never accounted for. :)

What's the law in your state?
 
Unless things have changed in the past few years, Virginia did NOT have a code covering passengers in the bed of a truck but some localities enacted city codes prohibiting such an act. I heard Virginia Beach has a code against people in the cargo area of a truck. They had several accidents years ago where people were thrown out of the bed so it was considered a safety issue. People could get very rowdy when cruising the oceanfront strip as well if they were in the bed so it helped cut down on disorderly conduct as well. >:D
 
AVnFun said:
How would they even know anyone was in there? Do what I do, make them lay down under the panels.
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We had to many folks in a 95 454 SS chevy pickup when I was in Detroit one time.....I road under the tuno cover (n)

I got my hearing back after the movie we saw.......... :jacked:
 
Alaska_AV. said:
We had to many folks in a 95 454 SS chevy pickup when I was in Detroit one time.....I road under the tuno cover (n)

I got my hearing back after the movie we saw.......... :jacked:
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:laugh: I've been in the trunk of cars a couple of times in the drivein movies.

But in Michigan unless you have a seat belt back there don't get caught with folks back there.

Anyone caught without a seatbelt the driver gets a ticket and it ain't cheap.
 
I remember the days in Va where we would stand up in my buddies dads Ford 4x4 and hang on to the roll bar going down the road. did I mention it had about 6" of lift as well.
 
Since it relates to this topic

An Orlando man riding in the bed of a pickup was killed in an early morning crash on State Road 408, Orlando police said.
a Ford Ranger pickup - driven by Eric Dudley - that was heading east on State Road 408 near the Mills Avenue exit when the truck was rear-ended by a 2008 Pontiac at 2:02 a.m., police said.
Hartsock was thrown from the truck and was run over by a 2005 Volkswagen.

This mornings news
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-fatal-run-over-062108,0,5205068.story?track=rss

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Eastbound lanes on the 408 near Mills Avenue were closed for several hours early Saturday morning after a fatal accident that involved three vehicles.

According to Orlando Police a car driven by 36 year old Darnell Lytch collided with a Ford pickup around 2am, ejecting a man who was sitting in the bed of the truck.

The victim, indentified as Gary Hartsock or Orlando, landed in the middle of the roadway and was run over by at least one other car.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.
http://www.wftv.com/news/16672909/detail.html?rss=orlc&psp=news
 
Maybe its safer to ride on the roof and tie yourself to the cross bars  :D
 
I have two things on this topic.

1.  The scout camp I go to has a rule, no riding in the beds of trucks, I am not positive if that rule applies to all camps across the US or not, but clearly it is a safety concern.

2. Are there any rules about doors on Jeeps?  I work with someone who took the doors off his new Jeep and I did wonder if there was a law about it.
 
I think Illinois covers the Avalanche by saying everyone in the vehicle must have a seat belt with shoulder harness. Illinois is big with a bunch of blue laws like that. :mad:
 
The Jeep without doors is fine as long as you relocate the mirors. Law says that you have to have them
 
In Texas, I think that riding in the back of a truck is illegal....unless you're an illegal alien.

:kidding:

As a kid, I remember well riding down the dirt roads of North Texas in the bed of my grand dad's old truck.  Never going too fast.  My cousins, my brother and I use to fall out all the time horsing around playing games.  It's a wonder we survived those days but I don't remember a broken bone or serious injury.  But then, seat belts came along to save us.
 
Rocky07 said:
In Texas, I think that riding in the back of a truck is illegal....unless you're an illegal alien.

:kidding:

As a kid, I remember well riding down the dirt roads of North Texas in the bed of my grand dad's old truck.  Never going too fast.  My cousins, my brother and I use to fall out all the time horsing around playing games.  It's a wonder we survived those days but I don't remember a broken bone or serious injury.  But then, seat belts came along to save us.
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All the fun stuff is illegal now.  I remember riding on the rear deck (behind the back seat,up against back window in the big a$$ cadi)
Everytime he would hit the breaks at a red light I'd go flying up against the front seats and land on the back floor.

Oh, those were the good ol days.  :laugh: :laugh:
 
I was thinking about on long hauls putting down the mid gate, putting a little mattress in the bed so passengers could crawl back and lay on the mattress in the bed under the cover.  prolly not legal, but could get a lot of driving down with two people if someone could sleep.
 
Tango Chaser said:
All the fun stuff is illegal now.  I remember riding on the rear deck (behind the back seat,up against back window in the big a$$ cadi)
Everytime he would hit the breaks at a red light I'd go flying up against the front seats and land on the back floor.

Oh, those were the good ol days.   :laugh: :laugh:
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Good old days are gone for sure.  I remember lying on the rear package tray of my Dad's 1960 Ford Galaxie 500 and looking at the stars thought that huge rear window.  Yep, but a memory now, but a good one!
 
funk_drum said:
I was thinking about on long hauls putting down the mid gate, putting a little mattress in the bed so passengers could crawl back and lay on the mattress in the bed under the cover.  prolly not legal, but could get a lot of driving down with two people if someone could sleep.
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As long as there are no "PANIC STOPS" that would be a great way to rotate driving.  I had a custom Van back in the late 70s early 80s.  Was on a all night mad dash from Texarkana Tx to Eatontown NJ.  Let the Ex Wife drive while I sacked out on the convertable rear couch/bed seat.  I seemed to be aware of smashing my face in the roof panel then flying over the mid row Captian seats with passengers in them as well.  I came to rest between the front seats on the console.  She hit a RR crossing and when she came level again saw a dog in the road and stopped from 65 MPH.  I asked her how the heck did a RR crossing get on the Interstate.  She had left the interstate to find a bathroom.  The Bristol Rest stop was less than a mile up the road from where she turned off.  Go Figure.
 
MichiganSilver03 said:
But in Michigan unless you have a seat belt back there don't get caught with folks back there.

Anyone caught without a seatbelt the driver gets a ticket and it ain't cheap.
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Unless they changed the law since last time I checked the rule in Michigan was all available seat belts had to be in use and then you can pile as many people as you want in the bed,...  correct me if I'm wrong because there was legislation to eliminate that loophole but I never heard if it passed.

That begs another question, if I have the backseat/midgate down then I only have two "available" seat belts  :D
 
Flint4x4 said:
That begs another question, if I have the backseat/midgate down then I only have two "available" seat belts  :D
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That is why I asked this question... similar applies here in MD.
 
gn85 said:
That is why I asked this question... similar applies here in MD.
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They don't enforce it here except certain cities
 
My best friend and me cruised north with his girlfriend, his sister and my wife in the bed wearing bikinis. We were wearing sunglasses (and pants) and all we got was smiles, thumbs up and waves. I think it depends on the age of people and situation if it looks unsafe
 
Never put anybody in the back of a truck bed.  Good friend of mine died in the back of a truck bed. You would not want that on your conscious.
 
The question was is it legal ? I didn't mean to imply it was safe, I've seen people fall out of the bed of a truck. Driver/passenger fault and always on dirt at slow speed. It doesn't matter how slow/safe you drive if some idiot hits you and you have unbelted passengers.

Should it be illegal ? A passenger in the bed is same as a passenger on a motorcycle in my opinion. 
 
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