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Can you have passengers in your truck bed in Arizona?

When trying to determine responsibility and liability for a car crash, you need to look at the circumstances and also state law. Drivers in Arizona main mistakenly presume that they are personally to blame for a situation, and passengers may reach the same faulty conclusion even when another driver is clearly to blame for the collision.

The use of safety restraints is mandatory in some situations and not in others. Whether you utilize a safety belt or not could have an influence on your right to a personal injury claim. Does a passenger in a truck bed have the right to make a claim against a driver’s insurance?

Passengers in truck beds don’t necessarily violate the law

Arizona has two main rules regarding safety restraints in vehicles. The first is that those in the front seat of the vehicle should always wear them. The second is that minors not yet old enough for driver’s licenses should always wear them.

Children under the age of 16 cannot ride in the bed of a truck without violating the law, and adults cannot ride in the front seat of a truck without safety belts legally. Still, adults can ride in the bed of a truck without necessarily violating the law or losing their right to a personal injury claim.

Riding without restraints might be a form of contributory negligence

When it is clear that the other party caused the crash and the costs are higher than what insurance will pay, the people hurt in a wreck might need to go to court. Personal injury claims in Arizona allow those hurt by others to ask for financial compensation.

However, the courts may potentially reduce the compensation someone receives if they determine that the lack of restraints constituted contributory negligence. The courts will determine the percentage of fault that falls to the person without the restraints and then reduce whatever they receive in a civil case judgment by that percentage.

Those hurt while riding unrestrained in a truck bed can still potentially file an insurance claim against the other driver and take that driver to court. Understanding the rules that apply to car crash claims can help you make the most of the insurance available to you and know when you have the right to go to court.

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