South Carolina Ban on ‘Squatting’ Vehicles Inches Closer, But Time Running Out

A bill that would ban so-called “squatting trucks” that have their front ends lifted so much that the driver can’t fully see the road has passed a key committee, but time is running out in the South Carolina General Assembly.

A House Insurance subcommittee approved Senate Bill 908 on Wednesday, almost two months after it was passed by the state Senate. It now goes to the full House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

North Carolina and Virginia lawmakers outlawed the jacked-up rides last fall and last month, respectively. Police officials and other supporters of the bills have said the vehicles are a danger to pedestrians and other cars, according to news reports.

Last summer, a pedestrian was killed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after being hit by one of the vehicles, also known as a “Carolina Squat” truck.

“The pedestrian, rather than striking the front of the vehicle and rolling off, was actually caught underneath the car and was killed,” Myrtle Beach police spokesman Tom Vest told the Sun News.

S 908 would limit the front-to-back height difference of the trucks to four inches. Some squatting trucks now have height differences of as much as 20 inches.

The South Carolina legislative session ends May 12, and a supporter of the bill said it will be difficult to get the measure to a floor vote by then, the Sun News reported.

Topics South Carolina