Peel police are warning of the dangers of driving with passengers illegally after footage of people riding in the back of a pickup truck, reportedly along a Mississauga highway, went viral.
In the short clip, two men can be seen casually chatting while sitting in the bed of a moving vehicle.
Travelling in this manner is “extremely dangerous” and “illegal,” police told Now Toronto in an email statement on Wednesday.
Many people online have been reacting to the footage, and some were more shocked than others.
“I hope whoever shot that vid reports that driver,” one person wrote on Instagram.
“What’s the f***in issue…people have been doing this in Canada since the first pick up truck came off the assembly line,” another user wrote.
“Let’s be real. If you were born and raised through the 80s and 90s, you rode on the truck bed of a pick up. It was not safe and illegal then as it is now. And if you’re from somewhere rural, you more than likely have done this,” someone else commented.
“Safer than a ride at Wonderland,” another person wrote mockingly.
Police said drivers could face multiple charges for carrying passengers in this way, including Stunt Driving and Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle.
“The passenger could also face charges,” police said, and are at risk of serious bodily harm or death from a potential fall.
