Senate to consider ban on kids in open truck beds

The Arizona Senate on Wednesday is scheduled to consider the latest legislative attempt to prohibit drivers from transporting unrestrained children in the open beds of pickup trucks.

Numerous attempts to restrict the practice have been failed in recent decades, with one bill being vetoed after reaching the desk of then-Gov. Jane Hull in 1998.

Supporters say the legislation is intended to protect children and that exceptions included in the bill should address concerns about the prohibition being a hardship.

The bill’s exceptions include emergency situations, parades and vehicles being driven on private property, between parts of a farm, on an Indian reservation or under 36 miles per hour.