Practice Areas

• Car & Motorcycle Accidents
• Crashes Caused by Trucks
• Medical Malpractice/ Doctor Mistakes
• Railroad Injury/ FELA
• Brain Damage/ Head Injuries
• Wrongful Death
• Slips, Trips & Falls
• Mass Transit (Airline, Train, Bus)
• Dangerous Drugs/ Product Recalls
• All Serious Injuries

HSInjury Blog

Car & Motorcycle Accidents

• Tragic Car Accident in Caroline County Highlights Importance of Seatbelts
• Tragic Car Accident in Caroline County Highlights Importance of Seatbelts
• Teen Passenger Killed in Tragic Car Crash

view all

Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer

• Wheelchair-Bound Suffolk Woman Hit, Killed While Crossing Street

Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer

• St. Patrick's Day DUI Checkpoints Nab 9 Drunk, Drugged Drivers in Virginia Beach

Northeast NC Personal Injury Lawyer

• Huge FELA Award, $48,000,000 in Damages Upheld for Railroad Employee Rendered Quadreplegic

Firm News

• Attorney Discusses Speed Limit Increase in Parts of Virginia (VA)
  Posted on 2/22/2010
• Attorney Discusses Shift from Jury Trials to Settlements in Virginia
  Posted on 2/9/2010
• Attorney Discusses the High Car Crash Rate in Hampton Roads
  Posted on 2/4/2010
• Attorney Examines Increase in Wrong Way Car Wrecks in HOV Lanes
  Posted on 2/3/2010
• Attorney Discusses Insurance Issues for "Road Warriors"
  Posted on 1/31/2010

View all

Library

Car & Motorcycle Accidents

• What to Do if You Hit a Deer
• No Text is Worth Dying For
• Don't play the insurance company's games of delay, defend and deny. Review this article, check out our videos and free consumer reports, then give our firm a call so you can talk to an experienced injury lawyer for a free consultation.

View all

print

Do I Need a Seat Belt in a Truck Bed?

Maybe one of the most dangerous things you can do in a truck is ride in the bed. This practice, widely accepted in rural areas, has claimed many lives, including a Kentucky man, a Pennsylvania man, and six southwestern Virginia teens. The National MCH Center for Child Death Review recently listed riding in a truck bed as one of the leading concerns for children under the age of 16.

Riding in the truck bed is dangerous for a variety of reasons. First, there are no seat belts in the back of a truck. Anyone involved in a collision in the back of a truck will invariably be thrown from the truck. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, this sort of accident accounts for more than 200 deaths a year, nationwide.

Still, only 34 states have laws that prohibit riding in the back of a truck.

Virginia law prohibits passengers under the age of 16 from riding in truck beds. It does not prohibit adults from riding back there.

In Maryland, anyone over the age of 16 may ride in the back of the truck. If you are 15, you may ride in the back as long as the truck is traveling 25 mph or lower. However, Maryland makes an exception for pickup trucks that have covered cargo areas – the reasoning being that the covered cargo area will contain the person in the event of an accident.

West Virginia, on the other hand, has absolutely no law governing who may ride in the back of the truck. In the absence of a law, it is perfectly permissible to ride in the truck bed.

In South Carolina, only people under the age of 15 are prohibited from riding in a pickup truck. However, South Carolina makes several exceptions. For example, the child may ride back there (1) with an adult, (2) in emergency situations, (3) while hunting or in some agricultural enterprise.

In North Carolina, only children under the age of 12 are prohibited from riding in a truck bed.

As you can see, truck bed laws vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. As a general rule, the laws become more and more lax as the state becomes more and more rural. This is because of the necessities of farm life that sometimes require children to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

In any case, if you can avoid riding in the back or having a child back there, you should do so. This practice costs the nation about 200 lives per year. Any steps we can take toward prevention should be taken.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

How should you locate the best, top injury lawyer for your case?

Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:

Several  Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law  (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .

In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal).  Click on any icon for more details.

 

Geographical Areas:

Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.

As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.

As to West Virginia (WV) personal injury claims: Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling, and any other town or county.

Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, NC, SC, KY & Wash., DC.

Quick Contact

We Welcome
Lawyer Referrals
click here

Case Results

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.

Car & Motorcycle Accidents

• Motorcycle Passengers Recover $1,512,000.00

Awarded: $1,512,000.00

• Rear Ender-Neck/Cervical Fusion Surgery, Lost Income and Earnings
• Pedestrians Struck by Automobile Recover $540,000.00

Awarded: $545,000.00

• Car Accident-minivan-knee surgery
• Crosswalk Accident With Broken Leg Settles For $227,000.00

Awarded: $227,000

More

FAQs

Car & Motorcycle Accidents

• I've been hurt in a car wreck and the insurance company for the other driver has called me to give a recorded statement.  Should I do it?
• Should I use my regular health insurance to pay for the medical care I need as a result of a car accident?
• Our new clients in car accident cases often asked, "Can I accept a check which has been offered to me for my car repairs or will that mess up my claim for injuries and medical bills?"
• Why shouldn't I just take a quick settlement for whatever the car insurance company for the other driver will pay me?
• What do I do if the at-fault driver's car insurance is not returning my calls or dragging its feet after a Virginia car accident with injuries?
  
  
  

more

InjuryBoard Resources

• Our Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
• Our Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
• Nationwide Personal Injury Lawyer Blog Network
• All About Tort Reform
• Our Northeast North Carolina (NC) Personal Injury Lawyer Blog