Gov. Josh Green signed a bill into law in June that aims to keep young people safe on the road.
Fatalities on Oʻahu’s roads hit an 18-year high of 129 deaths in 2025. The new law, House Bill 1692, tackles one dangerous practice: it raises the minimum legal age to ride in a truck bed from 12 to 16.
Hawaiʻi now joins nine other states in the nation that also have restrictions on riding in the bed of a pickup truck. Violators will pick up a minimum $25 fine for each infraction.
To find how residents are feeling about the new law, HPR’s The Conversation's Kevin Allen and Addis Belay traveled to Sandy Beach to hear their reactions.
Some, like Allen from Waimānalo and Jesse from ʻEwa, are all for the increased age restriction.
“It's a good law to have because I feel like there's a lot of irresponsible drivers out there,” the former said.
He explained that the new law hit close to home: “My uncle, he had an accident, and he was in the back of a truck, and he can't remember a lot of things now. He has short-term memory loss.”
Jesse’s support for the law similarly comes from firsthand experience.
“I was that dummy in the back of the truck, not just sitting back there, but on the side of it, on the rail,” he told HPR. “And you never know when you're going to hit one pothole and you go and huli right over.”
Others, like Kevin from Hawaiʻi Kai, think that speed should be a limiting factor, rather than age.
“If you're in a speed zone of 25, 35 miles per hour, I think it's completely appropriate. Again, if you're gonna go on the freeway, I don't think it's appropriate for anybody.”
Tiana from the North Shore and Chevelle from Waimānalo feel fine sitting in the back of a truck as long as they trust their driver.
Chevelle told HPR, “I've been riding in the back of a truck since like the ripe age of like eight or nine. So yeah, I would say it's pretty chill."
“I would do it with my parents. I don't know if I'd trust a lot of my friends. Like I don't know a lot of my friends aren't the best drivers,” she said.
Still, for some residents, it’s hard to deny “the freedom of not being belted in, and the fact that the wind is going through your hair, that all your senses are alive,” as Kevin expressed.
And for those like Clifton, who lives in Reno but hales from Haleʻiwa, truck bed-riding is just a way of island life.
“Everybody rode in the back, you know. I remember riding in the hatchback,” he recalled.
“But I don't think it's a problem. I mean, 12 to 16 is fine. As long as your baby's not running around the back, you know.”
More information about the new law can be found here. If you have thoughts about the new restriction on truck bed-riding, leave a voicemail on the HPR talkback line at 808-792-8217 or send an email to talkback@hawaiipublicradio.org.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 28, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
