A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the protection of children who ride in the back of pickup trucks or open beds of vehicles by raising the minimum age, REMOVING the exemptions that make allowances for small counties and adults riding with children, and increase the penalties to be in line with other child safety violations as recommended by the child fatality task force.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑135.2B reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑135.2B.  Transporting children under 16 years of age in open bed or open cargo area of a vehicle prohibited; exceptions.
(a)	The operator of a vehicle having an open bed or open cargo area shall ensure that no child under16 years of age is transported in the bed or cargo area of that vehicle. An open bed or open cargo area is a bed or cargo area without permanent overhead restraining construction.
(b)	Subsection (a) of this section does not apply in any of the following circumstances:
	(2)	The child is secured or restrained by a seat belt manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, installed to support a load strength of not less than 5,000 pounds for each belt, and of a type approved by the Commissioner.
(3)	An emergency situation exists.
(4)	The vehicle is being operated in a parade pursuant to a valid permit.
(5)	The vehicle is being operated in an agricultural enterprise.
	
(c)	Any person violating this section shall have committed an infraction and shall pay a penalty of not more than twenty‑five dollars ($25.00), even if more than one child less than 16 years of age are riding in the open bed or open cargo area of a vehicle. A person found responsible for a violation of this section  shall be assessed court costs. A person violating this section shall be assessed two drivers license points by the division.
(d)	No insurance surcharge shall be assessed on account of violation of this section. A violation of this section shall not constitute negligence per se or contributory negligence per se. A violation of this section shall not be evidence of negligence or contributory negligence."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2008, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.