Recently The Alabama House failed to pass Rep. Kerry Rich’s bill to prevent people from riding in the back of pickup trucks. How can it be that all passengers in “any and all” motor vehicles in Alabama are not required by law to wear seat belts? Any why are our existing seat belt laws not elevated to primary enforcement status? Could it have anything to do with the fact that if such a law were passed, it would make it illegal to ride in the back of a pickup truck, a source of so many of our lawmaker’s hallowed and cherished childhood memories? According to AL.com “Speaking against the bill, Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, asked lawmakers on the House floor to raise their hands if they have ridden in the back of a pickup. Every hand went in the air.” Are a few brief moments of fun really worth the lives of so many young adults and teenagers?

The bill put before Alabama lawmakers has failed for the second consecutive year following the tragic deaths of four alabama teenagers in a pickup truck accident while riding without seat belts in 2013. The victims of the pickup truck wreck were Ryan Lawson, 19, Blake Keener, 21, Maegen Cordell, 13, and Ruben Pachecho, 18, all died from injuries sustained when the truck they were in flipped Sunday, July 14, 2013, on U.S. 431 near Guntersville. (Contributed by WHNT News 19) None of the people who died or were injured in the wreck wore seat belts, troopers said.

The bill would have effected only 16-18 year olds because anyone under 16 is already required to wear a seatbelt or be restrained in a child safety seat. The watered down bill would have kept teenagers from riding in the back of pickups on state and federal highways and not applied to farming, parades and hayrides.

If you have been injured or have had a loved one killed in a motor vehicle accident, you need to hire an experienced Alabama automobile accident attorney who will help you to recover damages by suing the insurance company of the negligent driver. We are here to help so give us a call.