Bill tougher on pickup riders

Panel passes measure to raise minimum age, stiffen penalty

RALEIGH -- Riding loose in the back of a pickup truck may once have been a rite of Southern childhood, but legislators are working to relegate the practice to the past.

State law already prohibits drivers from allowing children younger than 12 to ride in the bed of a pickup truck unless they are wearing seat belts or are overseen by their parents or other adult. A bill that passed the state House's Committee on Children, Youth and Families on Wednesday would apply the rule to children younger than 16, stiffen the penalty to the level of a seat-belt violation, and remove the exemption for children riding with adults.

"The way the law is written now, you could technically have an infant riding in a parent's arms in the back of a pickup," said Dr. Suzanna Martin, a Duke pediatrician who was among the children's advocates and pediatricians addressing the committee.

Supporters of the legislation, including Tom Vitaglione of the Child Fatality Task Force, cite figures that show eight children died and 127 were injured in North Carolina pickup truck accidents from 2002 to 2006.

The proposed legislation also would remove a current provision that exempts riders in 32 rural counties, but it would continue to allow the practice when used for farm work or parades.

"Counties across our state have highways, and children across our state are at risk no matter where they live," said Rep. Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat and House sponsor of the bill.

Dr. Gina Abelli, a pediatric resident at UNC-Chapel Hill, told committee members that a 14-year-old North Carolina girl died within the last year while she was riding with a parent in the back of a pickup. The girl had just passed the five-year mark of survival from brain cancer when she died in the crash, Abelli said.

Some legislators predicted tougher questions about the bill when it moves next to a House judiciary committee hearing, which had not been scheduled Thursday.

Brian Irving, a spokesman for the state Libertarian Party, called the proposed law an overreach.

"It's another example of the state trying to tell people how to live their lives," Irving said in an interview. "Parents should be responsible for their children."

Sen. Bill Purcell, a Laurinburg Democrat and pediatrician, is sponsor of a Senate version of the bill.