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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / August 2006riding in back of pickup trucks
I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks in central FL. No seatbelt, nothing. Does FL have any laws on the matter? "Todd" <nospam@nospam.com> wrote in message > I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks > in central FL. No seatbelt, nothing. Amazing! I should think they would just drop dead of inappropriateness. When I was a kid we always rode around that way - in summer. And of course, at least 50,000 - 60,000 of us per day were dismembered and splattered all over the landscape. Just sitting in the back with the engine running killed at least several hundred! >Amazing! I should think they would just drop dead of inappropriateness. I grew up in a place where it was never done, so it just looked very unusual to see it several times on a 45mph heavy traffic route. But if everyone's an adult and they choose to take the risk, by all means... Safer than riding a bike on that route for sure. But I wouldn't do that either. > I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks > in central FL. No seatbelt, nothing. Does FL have any laws on the > matter? Oh by all means, let's have the government step in an "protect" us from ourselves. After all, I was killed 20 years ago when I rode in the back of a pickup no more than one occasion. > barking pumpkin said in rec.autos.driving: > > I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > After all, I was killed 20 years ago when I rode in the back of a pickup > no more than one occasion. Absolutely. I was killed about the same time for *heaven forbid* riding in a car with out wearing a seatbelt!  SignatureC orrupt I mbeciles A nonymous > Absolutely. I was killed about the same time for *heaven forbid* riding > in a car with out wearing a seatbelt! Automobiles didn't always have seatbelts. It's a wonder that homo sapiens didn't become extinct before seatbelts were mandated. -Dave > > Absolutely. I was killed about the same time for *heaven forbid* riding > > in a car with out wearing a seatbelt! > > Automobiles didn't always have seatbelts. It's a wonder that homo sapiens > didn't become extinct before seatbelts were mandated. -Dave In my day we'd ride about a mile in the back of a pickup - on top of about 100 hay bales, which made our ride higher than the cab. Of course, our average speed was 10. > I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks > in central FL. No seatbelt, nothing. Does FL have any laws on the > matter? I don't know about Florida, but now NC has a law prohibiting minors from riding in the back of pick-ups. I don't have the statistics available, but I don't recall many deaths or even injuries associated with riding in the back of pick-ups. It strikes me as a nanny law. Around here this is the sort of law that Damn Yankees (the ones that come and won't leave) like to promulgate. I grew up on a farm, and I probably spent as much time in the back of pick-ups as in the cab. And my Father always removed the tailgate as soon as he got a new truck, so I never even had to deal with those. Ed > I don't know about Florida, but now NC has a law prohibiting minors from > riding in the back of pick-ups. I don't have the statistics available, but I > don't recall many deaths or even injuries associated with riding in the back > of pick-ups. It strikes me as a nanny law. Around here this is the sort of > law that Damn Yankees (the ones that come and won't leave) like to > promulgate. And if only the posters in this thread had lived to see it, as opposed to dying years ago from riding in pickup truck beds. Anyway, I'm sure any pickup bed riding bans will be touted in the same way as seatbelt laws were - it's not that you'll fall out during normal driving, but that you would be flung out of the pickup bed (read 1980s: front seat of car) during a collision (or else strike the cab). > > I don't know about Florida, but now NC has a law prohibiting minors from > > riding in the back of pick-ups. I don't have the statistics available, but I [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > driving, but that you would be flung out of the pickup bed (read 1980s: > front seat of car) during a collision (or else strike the cab). Absolutely true. But at least when I was young, it seemed an insignificant risk. About the only bad thing that happened when I was in the back of the pick-up was I got a painful (but not nearly fatal) cut on my hands becasue I stuck them out while riding next to field corn. Those damn corn leaves are tough. On the range of dangerous thing I did while I was a kid, riding in the back of a pick-up was about a 4 (1 being completely safe, 10 being fatal). Riding a bike on a country road was a lot more dangerous than riding in the back of my dad's truck. Heck, weeding peanut on a hot July day was a whole lot more dangerous (not to mention unpleasant) than riding in the back of a truck. Playing in the hay loft was a lot more dangerous too. Ed Ed > I don't know about Florida, but now NC has a law prohibiting minors from > riding in the back of pick-ups. I don't have the statistics available, but I [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Ed That's probably one of the reasons that farming has long been considered one of the more dangerous occupations. Personally, I'd consider riding in the back of a PU on the farm, or slow farm roads, an acceptable hazard. The risk of an accident and the injuries resulting will increase with speed. Riding in the back on a fast road or freeway is just asking to be turned into a human meatball. The pieces don't always fit back together properly. C. E. White wrote: <brevity snip> > I don't know about Florida, but now NC has a law prohibiting minors from > riding in the back of pick-ups. I don't have the statistics available, but I > don't recall many deaths or even injuries associated with riding in the back > of pick-ups. Eh, I remember a few. Growing up on a farm I spent lots of time in the back of a '53 Int'l pickup. I-71 was that big road over there we never had a need for so all of that time was spent on lightly traveled state routes and local roads. My grandfather tended to drive as if our destination could be counted on to still be there regardless of our time of arrival. We used to criticize him amongst ourselves back in the bed because he didn't know how to drive, that stupid SOB would be in 3rd (top) gear at 25 mph! It took me a lot of years to learn less than 20% of what that man knew... ----- - gpsman > We used to criticize him amongst ourselves back in the bed because he > didn't know how to drive, that stupid SOB would be in 3rd (top) gear at > 25 mph! Now you are reminding me of my Grandfather. I can remember riding in his 1964 Ford Fairlane as a young boy. It had a three speed manual transmission. He would start off in first gear but shift to third (skipping second) almost immediately. Once he was in third, that was it, he never downshifted unless he came to a complete stop. When taking a slow corner he would slip the clutch to keep from killing the engine. The first clutch lasted less than 20,000 miles. I blame his driving style on learning to drive Ford Model T's. BTW, we (my sister and me) inherited the car when my Grandfather passed away in 1969. It was the first car I drove (when it was new and I was 11). It was a four door Fairlane with two options - a 260 V-8 and a heater (it even had rubber floor mats, no carpet). I loved the car until I blew the motor by missing a shift when screwing around. I have no idea how high I revved the engine, but I floated the valves. It bent one intake valve and spun a bearing. My Father had it fixed and unloaded it. Ed "C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> said in rec.autos.driving: >BTW, we (my sister and me) inherited the car when my Grandfather passed away >in 1969. It was the first car I drove (when it was new and I was 11). Ah, so your illegal driving started early. :) SignatureI'm a wreckless driver and damn proud of it! > "C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> said in > rec.autos.driving: [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Ah, so your illegal driving started early. :) I got my first ticket at 14 in a '64 Dodge crewcab (inoperable headlamp/no license). I'd been driving for years by then. The Trooper followed me maybe 3 miles to home where I'd claimed I left my license. Activated his lightbar as we turned in the driveway. Nice move, I thought. Parents were off doing something (or I wouldn't have been driving without permission) and I prayed the whole way that they hadn't yet returned. I wasn't worried about the state, the beating I could expect bore much more weight upon my mind. As a minor, I had to appear in court. The Trooper testified I was driving ok, it was just the equipment violation that caused him to stop me. The judge (in Chambers) sentenced me to write a "500 word composition" on OH traffic code. The proceeding complete, my mother sent me out to wait in the hallway and went f.cking ballistic on the judge, to no avail. Nice move, I thought. I never did get that beating. But then again, some of the previous beatings covered the offense pretty well... ----- - gpsman >The judge (in Chambers) sentenced me to write a "500 word composition" >on OH traffic code. The proceeding complete, my mother sent me out to >wait in the hallway and went f.cking ballistic on the judge, to no >avail. Nice move, I thought. For being too tough, or too lenient? SignatureBill Funk replace "g" with "a" > >The judge (in Chambers) sentenced me to write a "500 word composition" > >on OH traffic code. The proceeding complete, my mother sent me out to > >wait in the hallway and went f.cking ballistic on the judge, to no > >avail. Nice move, I thought. > > For being too tough, or too lenient? Which would you think if a beating was the typical corrective action for, say, spilling your milk? <(;^)> ----- - gpsman >> >The judge (in Chambers) sentenced me to write a "500 word composition" >> >on OH traffic code. The proceeding complete, my mother sent me out to [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >- gpsman It's really hard to say. Many parents, while tough on their children, reserve that option to themselves, and visciously attack anyone else who dares to offer criticism to their children. From your response, I will assume your mother was not one of those. SignatureBill Funk replace "g" with "a" > "C. E. White" <cewhite3@removemindspring.com> said in > rec.autos.driving: [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Ah, so your illegal driving started early. :) Yup, I was legally licensed at 14, but started driving at age 12. Oh, and I didn't do it behind my parents' backs, either. -Dave "Mike T." <noway@nohow.not> said in rec.autos.driving: >> Ah, so your illegal driving started early. :) > >Yup, I was legally licensed at 14, but started driving at age 12. Oh, and I >didn't do it behind my parents' backs, either. Ah, so your parents aided and abetted your lawbreaking, eh? :) SignatureI'm a wreckless driver and damn proud of it! > "Mike T." <noway@nohow.not> said in rec.autos.driving: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Ah, so your parents aided and abetted your lawbreaking, eh? :) Damn straight. And it was my brother teaching me to drive, as my parents couldn't drive worth sh.t. :) -Dave "Mike T." <noway@nohow.not> said in rec.autos.driving: >>>> Ah, so your illegal driving started early. :) >>> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Damn straight. And it was my brother teaching me to drive, as my parents >couldn't drive worth sh.t. :) So who taught your brother to drive? ;) SignatureI'm a wreckless driver and damn proud of it! >>> Ah, so your parents aided and abetted your lawbreaking, eh? :) >> >>Damn straight. And it was my brother teaching me to drive, as my parents >>couldn't drive worth sh.t. :) > > So who taught your brother to drive? ;) My brother was much older than me. By the time I was ready to start driving (just shortly before I could legally get a license), he was already an accomplished stock car racer and dirt bike racer. He was more or less self-taught, as he could drive circles around anyone in our family, specifically including myself. He was also an award-winning mechanic by that time (I'm not exaggerating, he had a shelf full of trophies from various competitions). He just had a love of all things mechanical that went fast. :) One of his favorite toys was a used VW bug that he shoe-horned a used porsche engine into. That sucker was frighteningly fast. He never let me drive it, but I would have been terrified to try at that age anyway. -Dave > I've been surprised how often people ride in the back of pickup trucks > in central FL. No seatbelt, nothing. Does FL have any laws on the > matter? Feel free to go to the web site for Florida's DMV to look up the info. |
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