Can a child ride on the back of a motorcycle?

State laws vary regarding whether children are allowed to ride on the back of motorcycles. For example, in Arkansas, children under 8 years old are not permitted to be passengers on motorcycles.

In Texas, passengers must be at least 5 years old unless they are riding in a motorcycle sidecar. In Washington and Louisiana, anyone under 5 is prohibited from being a passenger. In addition, children in Louisiana must be properly seated and wearing a helmet. Hawaiian passengers must be at least 7 years old. On the other hand, most states, including New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Oregon, Oklahoma and California, have no age limit for passengers.