When citizens are traveling with items in the box of their trucks, there are laws that tell you how some items must be transported. This week’s question is about load requirements in a pickup truck. The reader wonders if there are specific tailgate position requirements and load securing requirements. Additionally, they also asked about when a flag is required on a load projecting from the vehicle.

Regarding securing a load, Michigan Vehicle Code section 257.720 states, “A person shall not drive or move a vehicle on a highway unless the vehicle is so constructed or loaded as to prevent its contents from dropping, sifting, leaking, blowing off, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.”

It also states that, unless you are hauling logs or tubular products, you must meet one of the following requirements:

(a) Have the load covered with firmly secured canvas or a similar type of covering. A device used to comply with the requirement of this subdivision shall not exceed a width of 108 inches nor by design or use have the capability to carry cargo by itself.

(b) Have the load securely fastened to the body or the frame of the vehicle with binders of adequate number and of adequate breaking strength to prevent the dropping off or shifting of the load.

That section does not apply to a vehicle transporting agricultural or horticultural products when hay, straw, silage, or residue from a product, but not including the product itself, escape from the vehicle in an amount that does not interfere with other traffic on the highway.

Regarding pickup tailgate requirements, the Vehicle Code actually requires you to drive with the tailgate up, whether the truck is loaded or not. MCL 257.720(1) states “The tailgate, faucets, and taps on a vehicle shall be securely closed to prevent spillage during transportation whether the vehicle is loaded or empty and the vehicle shall not have any holes or cracks through which material can escape.”

The exception to this is when the cargo on a pickup is longer than the truck bed. In this case, the tailgate may be open as long as the cargo is securely fastened to the truck bed with straps that are strong enough to hold your cargo. If the load extends more than four feet from the vehicle, a red flag is required to be attached to the projecting object. At night, a red light is required to be attached.

As for flagging a load, the Vehicle Code requires that if a load extends four feet or greater from the bed or body of a vehicle, a red flag is required to be attached to the far rear end of the load. It specifies that the flag must be red and at least 12 inches square. A red light is required to be attached one half-hour after sunset and one half-hour before sunrise.

Below is the section of the Vehicle Code that addresses this issue:

MCL 257.693, “Lamp or flag on projecting load,” states, “Whenever the load upon any vehicle extends to the rear 4 feet or more beyond the bed or body of such vehicle there shall be displayed at the extreme rear end of the load, at the times specified in section 684 hereof, a red light or lantern plainly visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the sides and rear. The red light or lantern required under this section shall be in addition to the red rear light required upon every vehicle. At any other time there shall be displayed at the extreme rear end of such load a red flag or cloth not less than 12 inches square and so hung that the entire area is visible to the driver of a vehicle approaching from the rear.”

Ashley Simpson is a Community Service Trooper for the MSP Alpena Post. If you have a question for Trooper Simpson, you can email her at asktroopersimpson@gmail.com or mail them to Ask A Trooper, Michigan State Police – Alpena Post, 3283 W. Washington Ave, Alpena, Mich. 49707.