Help from Arizonians

Just wondering if any of the members here from Arizona could help me with a question.

I am looking at a possible trip over next year and we are thinking of hiring an RV. The issue is that I would be travelling with my parents, one of whom can't travel very well and needs to rest at fairly frequent intervals.

Is it legal when driving an RV for one of the passengers to sleep in one of the beds or do all passengers have to be belted in?

Also any ideas for must see things (apart from the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Tombstone as those are already on the list) would be welcome.

There is a seat belt law in Arizona, whether it applies to RV's I do not know. As for what to see, unless you are fascinated with the old west, Wyatt Earp etc. or your travels take you near Tomstone, I would skip Tombstone. It is very touristy and not much there except the whole Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday Shootout at the OK Corrall thing. If you do go the part I enjoyed the most, was a walk through Boot Hill Cemetery reading the tombstones which are colorful, funny and some historic. You mentioned Grand Canyon, what many travelers overlook is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon which is well worth it and if you can do both the N&S Rims, so much the better. Jerome is kinda fun to see since you mentioned Sedona as it is handy. If you do end up going to Tombstone, Saghauro National Park is worth seeing, also Chirichaua National Park which is also handy to Tombstone.

Many states require only people sitting in the front seat of an RV to wear seat belts. These states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Read more: Motor Home Seat Belt Laws | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com …t-laws.html#ixzz1n1suJO4​2

The general consensus is that RV seatbelt laws (like many laws that try to appease opposing viewpoints) are purposefully ambiguous. I live in California, so I'll use it as an example.

In California, the new seatbelt law applies to all motor vehicles except specific work vehicles, taxis. limosines, etc. It's very specific in stating that all passengers must be buckled into an approved seat belt restraint system. But the drinking-while-driving laws specifically state that an RV's driver/passenger compartment is completely different than the "living" compartment and that open container laws don't pertain to the "living" compartment, even while on a highway.

The California DMV's "Buckle Up - It's the Law" advisory states:
Every person riding in a private passenger motor vehicle must be properly restrained in an approved safety belt system.

The California DMV's "Driving Your RV Safely" advisory states:
Always wear your safety belt when driving. Even though many RVs accommodate passengers in places where safety belts are not required by federal law (i.e., dining table), if the area has a safety belt—wear it. Riding in a place which is not equipped with a safety belt increases the danger of injury in case of a collision.

Our small RV has normal belts/airbags in the driver's cab but only some of the rear compartment seats have lapbelts. These rear seats face either sideways or backwards and don't have any type of head restraints. When I transferred the title from Arizona to California, the DMV inspection included the cab compartment seatbelts but the living compartment was never inspected and no mention was made regarding passenger safety.

So, it sounds like a grumpy officer could give you a ticket if a passenger wasn't restrained. But it also sounds like you could get a ticket if a passenger was buckled in to a non-approved restraint (like those in the back of our RV). On the other hand, we've passed plenty of Highway Patrol officers when people were walking around in the living compartment, so it doesn't seem to be a high priority for them. (We've also been overlooked for speeding, illegal parking, driving without plates, etc. I wonder if the Highway Patrol is instructed to take it a little easier on tourists.)

Bottom line (for me) is that the physics and probabilities involved are more important factors than the law. Just like standing on the edge of a cliff with questionable stability, there's a very low chance the someone will get hurt but if someone does get hurt, there's a very high likelihood that the injury will be catastrophic. RV's (except for the front cab portion) just aren't built to be in accidents.

From a personal viewpoint, I think of the risks in terms of the Wizard of Oz tornado scene with the flying cows. Anything loose (including people) in the living compartment has the potential to be instantaneously turned into a 75mph rocket coming straight at you. Something to think about when you leave your 7D with super-telephoto sitting on the dining table or when your 180 pound friend wants to wash his hands 15 feet directly behind you. Flying cows!