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Can you ride in the bed of a truck?

Growing up in a small town, my childhood friends and I grew up riding in the back of our parents’ pickup truck bed. I casually mentioned this in a story I was telling to some of my college friends, and they were all shocked, telling me that was illegal, which I’d never heard before. Can you ride in the bed of a truck?

avatar
Melanie Mergen · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Especially in small towns and rural areas, it can be pretty commonplace to hop in the back of a truck bed to catch a ride somewhere—but is it legal? Laws regarding riding in the bed of a pickup truck vary from state to state. Some outright prohibit it, while others require passengers to be over 18, while others say little to nothing about it at all.
Perhaps a better question is should you ride in the bed of a
truck
. The short answer to that is: no because it isn’t safe. Since they’re meant for cargo and not passengers, they’re not exactly the safest place to be in a moving vehicle, especially amid other traffic.
You’re at a higher risk of being ejected or crushed in a collision and riding in a
covered truck bed
could cause carbon monoxide poisoning.
Beyond avoiding rides in a truck bed, another way to stay safe is to have the right car insurance policy. The
Jerry
app can help make that process quick and easy.
All you have to do is download the app, answer a few questions, and then you can start comparing competitive quotes from top
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.

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