It’s not uncommon in Alabama to see a pickup truck riding down the highway with a load of people in the back, especially in rural areas of the state. I did it growing up. Pretty much everyone I know has done it at some point.

In some cases it’s for practical reasons, but in most instances it’s cultural.

It’s also stupid.

But much like people continue to smoke and chew tobacco in spite of the obvious health risks, adults and kids alike continue piling into the back of pickup trucks when the cab is full, and many times even when it isn’t. Over the years, that has led to countless heartbreaking stories of individuals being ejected from the truck bed, even in minor crashes, resulting in serious injury or death. Monday is the one-year anniversary of four kids being killed and five others being injured when a pickup truck carrying ten people crashed in Guntersville, Ala.

States all over the country have debated whether or not this is an area in which the government should get involved. But even in the liberal state of Hawaii it took twenty years to pass a watered-down state-level bill that only outlaws kids under 12 riding in the back of a pickup. Alabama is currently one of 19 states that does not have a bill addressing the issue.

[Editor’s Note: § 32-5-222 of the Code of Alabama requires drivers on our streets and roadways to ensure that all children and teens under 15 years-old are in seat belts and/or approved safety restraints. So while this law does not ban an adult from riding in the back of a pickup truck, it does make it unlawful for a driver to allow children under 15 years of age to ride unrestrained whether inside a motor vehicle or in the back of pickup truck.]

But one Alabama Congressman is looking to ban the practice on public highways across the entire United States, at least for individuals under the age of 18.

“Minors would not be allowed to ride in beds of pickups on public highways,” said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL3). “If adults want to be that stupid, that’s their business. But kids have no business going in a pickup bed on a public highway.”

Rogers is now pushing for language to be added to the next Federal Transportation Bill that would make it illegal for minors to ride in the back of pickup trucks.

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