Despite how dangerous riding in the open bed of a pickup truck is, the following situations:
- An emergency situation,
- The vehicle is the only vehicle the family has and it is operated by members of the same household,
- The vehicle is in a parade,
- The vehicle is participating in a hayride that is permitted by the relevant government authority,
- The pickup is moving migrant farmworkers from one field to another on a farm-to-market road, ranch-to-market road, or county road that is outside of any municipality,
- The vehicle is being operated on a beach.
What is the Penalty for Allowing a Minor to Ride in an Open Bed?
Allowing a person under 18 years of age to ride in the open bed of your pickup truck is a misdemeanor in Texas. The crime is punishable by a fine of $25.00 to $200.00 if none of the six exceptions that are found in Texas Transportation Code – TRANSP § 545.414 apply.
Can A Violation of the Texas Open Bed Law Be Offered into Evidence to Prove Negligence?
The Texas Open Bed law specifically states that a failure to comply with the law cannot be offered into evidence in a civil trial. This is unique because typically a violation of a law can be used to show negligence per se—that is, negligence as a matter of law. Once this is established, there is no need to prove negligence. However, this law exempts itself from that.
Because of this unique aspect of the Texas Open Bed Law, the driver cannot use the fact that a person was in the open bed to argue that she was negligent, the person in the bed cannot use it to argue the driver should have known better, and; a third-party vehicle that causes a collision cannot use this to argue the other driver or the person in the truck bed was negligent as a matter of law.
So, if you are diving around a teen in a truck and the teen falls out and is killed, then the teen’s family is not permitted to tell the jury that you were violating Texas law at the time of the accident. On the other hand, if someone causes an accident with a pickup truck and there is a teen in the bed of the truck who flies out, the driver of the car cannot blame the teen or the other driver by saying “You failed to comply with the Texas law.”
When is it Legal for a Person to Ride in a Boat That is Being Towed on a Trailer in Texas?
Adults are not prohibited from riding un an open boat being towed in Texas. However, a driver who is towing a boat on a trailer may not permit a person under 18 to ride in the open boat in tow unless:
- There is an emergency,
- they are in a parade, or
- they are on a beach.
Oddly enough, the Texas Open Boat Law is less strict on when a minor can ride in an open boat that is being pulled on a trailer. It seems like an accident in a boat on a trailer should be considered just as dangers as an accident in a trailer. While the absence of a farmworker exception makes sense, parades are permitted but there is no exception for hayrides like the Texas Open Trailer Law allows nor is there an exception for single-family vehicles.
Can You Offer Evidence That Someone Was In Violation of the Texas Open Boat Law?
Yes. Violation of the Texas Open Boat Law can be offered into evidence and it can constitute negligence per se. Unlike the Texas truck bed law, there is no provision in the Texas Open Boat Law preventing you from offering this as evidence of negligence.
Know Your Rights
If you or someone you love falls from the back of a pickup or flatbed or a boat in tow, talk to a personal injury lawyer in Houston TX to learn your rights. Simmons and Fletcher, P.C., have been speaking up for the injured since 1979. Call us at 800-298-0111 for a free consultation.
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