Not everyone is a fan of New Jersey’s stricter child seat laws
Photo: supafly
The new controversial child seat laws in New Jersey go into action today, September 1st.
Under these new laws, kids who are less than two years old or 30 pounds must use rear-facing car seats with a five-point harness, regardless of their height. These children must be located in the back seats, unless a person drives a vehicle like a sports car or truck, which does not feature back seats. Under those special circumstances, the passenger-side airbag must be deactivated or removed if the child is to use a rear-facing car seat on the passenger-side of the vehicle.
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$75 tickets can be issued to violators of the new law
Additionally, children between the ages of two and four are required to sit in a rear or forward facing car seat in the vehicle’s back seats, while children between the ages of four and eight will be forced to sit either in a car seat or booster seat in the vehicle’s back seats, until they reach eight years old or 57 inches tall.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed this new legislation into law back in May.
Oddly, there are no specifications in these new child seat laws for when children eight years old or more are allowed to sit in the vehicle’s front seats. These new laws also do not specify how police will determine a child’s age, weight, or height.
Tickets worth up to $75 can be given to drivers who violate these laws.
Violators will also not be allowed to argue that their vehicle’s manufacturer suggested different car seat practices in order for the driver to get out of paying a fine. That condition has been removed under the updated New Jersey child seat law.
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News Sources: nj.com and Patch
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