House File 476 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  RANTS


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the transportation of passengers in an open
  2    truck bed and providing penalties.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 1199YH 82
  5 dea/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  321.447  PASSENGERS IN OPEN TRUCK
  1  2 BED.
  1  3    1.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person
  1  4 shall not operate a motor vehicle on a highway while
  1  5 transporting a passenger in an unenclosed area of the vehicle
  1  6 not intended for passenger seating, including but not limited
  1  7 to the open bed of a motor truck.
  1  8    2.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person
  1  9 shall not ride in an unenclosed area of a motor vehicle not
  1 10 intended for passenger seating, including but not limited to
  1 11 the open bed of a motor truck, while the vehicle is being
  1 12 operated on a highway.
  1 13    3.  Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply if the owner of the
  1 14 motor vehicle is a person engaged in farming or ranching and
  1 15 the vehicle is being operated within the boundaries of land
  1 16 that is owned or managed by the owner of the vehicle as a farm
  1 17 or ranch, including the incidental operation of the vehicle on
  1 18 a highway for the purpose of traveling not more than one mile
  1 19 from one part of the farm or ranch to another part of that
  1 20 farm or ranch.
  1 21    4.  Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply if the motor vehicle
  1 22 is being operated in a parade that is supervised by a public
  1 23 law enforcement agency and the speed of the vehicle does not
  1 24 exceed eight miles per hour.
  1 25    5.  The operator and passengers in a motor vehicle may each
  1 26 be charged separately for a violation of this section.  A
  1 27 violation of this section is a simple misdemeanor punishable
  1 28 as a scheduled violation under section 805.8A, subsection 14,
  1 29 paragraph "j".
  1 30    Sec. 2.  Section 805.8A, subsection 14, Code 2007, is
  1 31 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1 32    NEW PARAGRAPH.  j.  PASSENGER SEATING VIOLATIONS.  For a
  1 33 violation under section 321.447, subsection 1 or 2, the
  1 34 scheduled fine is twenty=five dollars.
  1 35                           EXPLANATION
  2  1    This bill prohibits the operator of a motor vehicle from
  2  2 transporting passengers in an unenclosed area of the vehicle
  2  3 not intended for passenger seating, such as an open truck bed.
  2  4 The bill also prohibits persons from riding in such an area of
  2  5 a motor vehicle.  The bill makes an exception for a motor
  2  6 vehicle owned by a farmer or rancher when the vehicle is being
  2  7 driven on land owned or managed by the farmer or rancher or
  2  8 traveling on the highway between one part of the farm or ranch
  2  9 to another part of the farm or ranch for a distance of one
  2 10 mile or less.  Another exception is allowed for a motor
  2 11 vehicle being operated at a speed of not more than eight miles
  2 12 per hour in a parade that is supervised by law enforcement.
  2 13    The penalty for a violation of the bill's provisions is a
  2 14 simple misdemeanor, punishable by a scheduled fine of $25.
  2 15 Both the driver and passengers may each be charged with a
  2 16 separate violation.
  2 17 LSB 1199YH 82
  2 18 dea:nh/je/5