The North Carolina House Judiciary Committee has approved a plan to increase restrictions on who may (or may not) ride in open pickup truck beds.

Current law allows children aged 12 and over to ride in open truck beds without any kind of seatbelts, House Bill 2340 will prohibit anyone under 16 years old from riding in the flatbed of a pickup truck, as well as removing a loophole that removes all age restrictions when the truck in question is being driven in a rural area.

As well, the plan will give drivers one insurance point for an infraction of the law, rather than the two-point license hit that was initially proposed. The change will result in increased insurance costs.

The bill still has to pass through the North Carolina Senate before Governor Mike Easley can sign it.

Meanwhile, another bill has already passed through the North Carolina Senate Commerce Committee, last Tuesday, which will require that insurance companies within the state notify their customers that they are allowed to purchase more than the legally-required minimum amounts of under- and un-insured motorist coverage.

Current minimum amount in North Carolina are $30,000 for injury or death for one person and a total of $60,000 for accidents resulting in injury or death of two or more people.

The new legislation would penalize insurers for failing to inform their customers of an option to purchase more than the minimum amounts (not to exceed $1 million per person/accident). As well, the same bill (HB 738) removes the option of policyholders to waive uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.