Hopping into the back of a pickup truck may not be such a free ride after the Alberta government reviews whether to ban the practice.
Provincial infrastructure minister Ed Stelmach and department officials are studying evidence from police and several industries. Government officials may recommend fining passengers riding in pickup truck boxes or giving drivers demerit points.
“It’s getting to be an issue out there and I’d like to put this issue to bed,” said Stelmach.
On May 28, seven teenagers, northbound on Secondary Highway 834 near Tofield, Alta., flew out of a pickup truck box after a delivery truck collided with their vehicle. They, along with three teens in the cab, were taken to hospital where three remained in stable condition last week. The next day a teen from Cold Lake, Alta., died after being thrown from the box of an out-of-control truck.
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“I think it’s absolutely stupid to be riding in the back of pickup trucks,” said RCMP Sgt. Jim Warren, who is investigating the Tofield incident.
While Warren recognizes farmers sometimes have legitimate reasons for carrying passengers in their truck boxes, he thinks the provincial government should ban people from joyriding in them. While he knows not everybody will listen, appropriate legislation would at least give police a tool to pull them over and explain the risks.
According to Paul Vasseur of the Farmer’s Advocate, few farmers use pickup boxes to transport people.
“Most farms I’m aware of now are highly mechanized and we don’t have the old threshing crews with half a dozen people. It’s not a big deal to rural landowners and I don’t think it will be a great imposition if it was legislated.”
Stelmach agrees, adding any legislation could spell out exemptions for specific activities.
If the government decides to ban riding in pickup trucks, instead of introducing new legislation, it could amend the Traffic Safety Act or work with other regulations.
