- A Democratic state representative from Raleigh proposes a statewide ban on transporting dogs in open vehicle beds and cargo areas.
- Violation of the new law would carry a $25 penalty.
You could be fined for transporting your dog in the back of your pickup truck in North Carolina, under a bill filed this week in the N.C. House. The bill also calls for a state study of safe dog transportation.
Rep. Grier Martin, D-Wake, filed House Bill 986, “Restrict Unrestrained Transportation of Dogs.” Martin’s district includes sections of central and north Raleigh.
It would add dogs to a section of state law that already bans children under 16 years old from riding in the “open bed or open cargo area” of a vehicle. If approved, the ban would take effect Dec. 1.
The only exceptions to the new ban on dogs in pickup beds would be for those “under the physical control of a person other than the vehicle operator,” “humanely secured in a cage or other container,” or “humanely restrained by a harness manufactured for the purpose of restraining animals.”
Violation of the law would amount to an infraction and a $25 fine. There would be no court costs.
Martin’s bill also would take $10,000 from the state Highway Fund for a Department of Transportation study of “issues related to the safe transportation of dogs.” DOT would submit the study’s findings to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division by Jan. 31, 2023.