Sacramento man sees a dog fly out of truck on Highway 50. Can pets legally ride in the bed?

Joseph Doll was driving in the slow lane on an early December morning when it happened.

The truck was zipping down the fast lane on Highway 50 near downtown Sacramento with a large lab in the pickup bed and “the next thing you know the dog is on the freeway,” he said.

The pup was first hit by a box truck, followed by a line of cars unable to brake in time.

“By the time I got to (the dog),” Doll, a Sacramento resident said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, “there was already blood and intestines and insides all over the freeway.”

“It didn’t even look like a dog by the time I got to it ... it was that fast.”

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Shortly after witnessing the incident, Doll posted to the r/Sacramento Reddit forum to plead with his fellow drivers:

“Please don’t put your dogs in your truck bed,” he wrote.

Sacramento’s online community assembled, sharing experiences of riding in the back of pick up trucks with and without dogs. Some stories had fatal endings. The Reddit post received 175 comments and 547 “up votes.”

“I saw this happen to a golden retriever at Thanksgiving. It was decapitated in front of (me) and my son,” Reddit user crowislanddive responded.

“I was on a school bus in high school on I-5 going through LA, and a dog flew out of a pickup in front of us and our bus ran it over,” another Reddit user, identified as wehappy3, posted. “That was at least 30 years ago and I still think about it when I see a dog loose in a pickup.”

The rules surrounding dogs (and humans) riding in the back of pickup trucks in California are tricky. What is legal and not?

Can dogs legally ride in the bed of a truck?

A 2007 peer-reviewed summary from the American Veterinary Medical Association titled “Literature Review on the Welfare Implications of Dogs Traveling in Truck Beds,” found pups are at serious risk of injuries when transported in open truck beds compared to in the cab.

More than half of the veterinarians surveyed in Massachusetts (141 practitioners) treated a total of 592 dogs with injuries sustained from traveling in a truck bed.

Officer Ashley Merchant with California Highway Patrol said dogs are legally allowed to ride in truck beds if they’re properly secured.

According to California Vehicle Code 23117(A), the space within the truck bed must be enclosed or feature side and tail racks at least 46 inches high that extend “vertically from the floor.” The truck could also feature “installed means” or a secured safety compartment for the pup.

Another option is to tether the dog to the vehicle but a “simple leash around the neck would not be sufficient,” Merchant wrote in an email.

The pup would have to be tethered by two separate anchor points within the bed, she added.

Break the law in Sacramento County and it could cost you a $291 ticket, which could be higher depending on prior convictions, according to the superior court.

There are few exceptions to the rule.

Merchant said a person transporting their dog along a road in a rural area who either owns or is employed by a ranching or farming business is exempt from the law. The exemption also applies if the person is traveling to or from a livestock auction.

People transporting a dog for ranching or farming purposes are also exempt from the law, she wrote.

Can people ride in truck beds in California?

The rules surrounding humans riding in the back of pickup trucks are even more strict than animals.

No person, according to California Vehicle Code 23116(A), is allowed to drive on the highway with someone in the bed of their pickup truck or flatbed motor truck.

Similarly, California Vehicle Code 23116(B) makes it illegal for a person to ride in the back of a pickup truck or flatbed motor truck that’s being driven on the highway.

Here are the exceptions to the rule, according to California law:

• The truck features a secured restraint system that meets federal standards of motor vehicle safety

• A farmer or rancher is transporting a person exclusively within the boundaries of their land

• A person is being transported in an emergency by a public institution

• A person is participating in a parade supervised by law enforcement and the speed doesn’t exceed 8 mph
  
  

In an email, the Sacramento Police Department said a person riding in the back of a pickup truck unrestrained would violate California’s seat belt law, California Vehicle Code 27315(D).

People who violate California Vehicle Code 27315(D) are typically charged $168 in Sacramento County, according to the superior court.

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