As fall rolls back around, Ohioans may feel the urge to jump in the back of a pickup truck and go for a ride.
Fun aside, what does Ohio law say about riding in a truck bed?
In Ohio, it is illegal for any passenger to ride in the cargo area of a vehicle without a latched tailgate. This means that for a pickup truck, the hinged panel located at the rear of the truck’s bed, which opens downwards to allow for easy loading and unloading, must be secured.
The only exception is for road workers under the authority of a public agency, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
It is also a misdemeanor offense for a driver to knowingly give a ride to children under 16 years of age in an unenclosed truck bed if the vehicle is traveling faster than 25 mph, unless the cargo area has a properly secured seat with a seat belt or in the case of a life-threatening emergency.
For those 16 and over, there isn’t explicit legislation ā as long as the tailgate is latched.
When focusing on the fatal crashes across Ohio thus far in 2025, 45% occurred while not using a seatbelt.
Of the 172,275 crashes statewide through Sept. 22 of this year, nearly 19%Ā were relatedĀ to not wearing a seatbelt, according to theĀ Ohio State Highway Patrol’s public crash dashboard.
Of the 670 fatal crashes in Ohio this year as of Sept. 22, 45% occurred while not using a seatbelt.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration releasedĀ a 2021 reportĀ that says both pickup truck drivers and their passengers had the highest percentage of fatalities from crashes involving not wearing a seatbelt across all vehicle types.
Reporter Sophia Veneziano may be reached atĀ sveneziano@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is it legal to ride in a pickup truck bed?
