New Jersey’s new child safety seat regulations take effect on Tuesday, September 1. With car crashes the leading cause of death and injury for children under the age of 14, the first-of- in-the-nation law will keep kids safer in the car.
“These new regulations will ensure that New Jersey remains a leader in child passenger safety,” said Tracy Noble, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The new law, which requires parents to adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for use of child safety seats, is the easiest way to keep New Jersey’s children safe on the road.”
Under the new law:
•Children under age 2 AND weighing less than 30 pounds must be secured in a rear-facing child safety seat that is equipped with a five-point harness.
•Children ages 2 – 4 and weighing up to 40 pounds must be secured in a child-safety seat equipped with a five-point harness, either rear-facing (up to the height and weight limits of the seat) or forward-facing.
•Children ages 4 – 8 and less than 57” tall (4’9”) must be secured in a forward-facing seat equipped with a five-point harness (up to the height and weight limits of the seat) or in a booster seat.
•Children ages 8 – 17 must use the vehicles seat belt. The safest place for children under 13 is the back seat.
When used properly, car seats are the best way to protect your child on the road. With four in five car used incorrectly, AAA urges parents to have their car seats checked by a nationally certified child passenger safety technician to ensure that the seat is installed correctly, being used properly, free of defects, and not recalled or missing parts. Parents can find a child safety seat inspection station or event near them at SeatCheck.org.
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What age can start sitting in the front?
Where on earth to you find a nationally certified child passenger safety seat technician? Is it just a fancy name for the grumpy dmv lady with all the fashion jewelry that perpetually moves papers around and stares at people?
yea thatll be the day that i put my 8 year old in a booster seat total nut cases
response to #3: are you one of those people who cant be bothered with a helmet for yourself AND your child? are you one of those parents who leave there kids in a car ‘for just a minute”? are you one of those who think seat belts in the back are a nuisance? are you one of those people who think these laws were made for everyone else’s safety except for those of your family?
kisui rosh – In response to your thoughtfulness and care for your passengers, which I have as well. Let’s rethink this, how many special interest are involved in each law passing? Not saying that this is the case – would you consider that some car seat manufacturers paid lobbyists to change the requirements and now sell more seats.
If the state truly cares about our welfare – how do they allow motorcyclists to drive unbuckled? Just another bunch of lobbiests paid for that.
I take all this with a grain of salt.
To 3: when your kids do turn 8 and it’s time they can sit directly – you’ll how small they are and how much they don’t/didn’t fit.
In the 50’s, my seat belt was my father’s arm when he stopped short with me in the front seat. It’s amazing we, six siblings, are still here. My brothers were in the back of our rambler station wagon – playing around. When I have to strap my grandchildren in, it feels like we’re going into space (takes me forever). However, that being said, I do want them safe and would do anything to keep them that way. Wow, have times changed.
To #1, I think it’s the airbags that could kill a child in the front seat. I guess it depends on their height and weight. There have been horrible accidents.
no way my 1.5 year old fitting rear facing, he does have legs afterall
i dont believe the ppl behind all this care for safety at all
to Lakewooder: The guy that runs Elemeno on James is a Baki in this stuff. If you bought your car seat from there he will install it for you the correct way. Ahrecha Yisrael!!
Its gonna be fun doing carpool. Putting 5 boys (3 of my own) all strapped in a forward-facing seat equipped with a five-point harness. What a joke!!
Its a joke because (a) where do you find such car seats. (b) how on earth do you fit so many car seats in a car /van. (c) so if you’re carpooling and you drop off boys at yeshiva do they have to go in to school with their car seats for their way home with another parent. Its absolutely ludicrous!!!
Ah! I remember those Rambler wagons. Personally, my Pop had a ’64 Plymouth Belvedere. And that was after the ’62 Chevy Bel-Air.
It’s called being safe than sorry!
I can think of many many more important issues for the police and politicians to be busy with. There are plenty of real thugs that will be getting away with mischief while the police are occupied with this nuisance. The current seat belt law of six year olds needing booster seats is more than enough.
How sad that parents can’t be “bothered” with these new regulations, which have been strongly recommended for years by the AAP. It inconveniences your carpool? Your 8 year old is embarrassed to be in a booster? Shame on you for allowing your lackadaisical ideas about safety and respecting the law to be passed down to another generation. Please see the car seat specialist at Elemeno or search for crash test visors online for proof that riding restrained is life saving.
Or safe and sorry, question is not if it’s safer it definitely is, the question is how far to go ,after all helmets in cars would make it even safer you have to find a reasonable balance and these regulators are anything but reasonable
be m’aiyin in the “The Seatbelt Solution” written by Steven Levitt author of “Freakonomics” where he explains that the government is scared to back off on safety regulations once they are made since if anything does happen they will be to blame. But he claims that after a certain age boosters don’t make a difference, I don’t remember since I read it a while ago.
Bubeh please don’t mention helmets I’m really afraid it will be next if they read this site
To cool masmid…I have a five yr old who is still in a five point harness seat and at one point I had 3 kids under 7 who were all in car seats, sure it’s time consuming but you do want your children to be safe do t you? How sad parents are so unconcerned for their children’s safety.
rules rules and more rules…..and for all tha tworry about safety maybe we should have all adults including the driver and your wife in the front sseat to be in a front facing 5 point harness car seat!!!!
Cool masmid if u read the whole paragraph u would see that at the end it says “or a booster seat”
in baltimore, where car pools are a way of life (no free buses at all), there is often a line up of car seats outside the classroom, especially for the younger kids. there are also carpools which have fewer drivers (fewer than one for each day) so that there is a seat belt for each child which means that some parents drive more than one day a week if they have 2-3 kids going to the same school. car pools have been a way of life there for so long that no one questions any of it. safety of the kids is more important than the parents’ convenience
Oh yes that reminds me there’s a neck chest harness which you connect to the helmet which almost guarantees that you survive the crash ,race car drivers using come to think of it we all look like to abolish the whole idea of crashes hurting people and any time consumed connecting these contraptions is another Life saved. Reason,a rare commodity
Ashrei, that’s a really funny comment you made. Why don’t you tell your wife to not talk on the phone while driving hat will put her kids and her in a more safe car.
I just turned my child’s seat around who is almost 2 and weighs 30 lbs who is not happy because his legs are really crammed. (Hes very tall) so that I abide by this new law. Now answer me this, will they be putting car seats and booster seats in all school buses? If not, then wouldn’t they be breaking the law?
I’m really surprised how many ppl r looking for a way out and to make their lives easier instead of safer. There is no way to really know how safe you can be until an accident hits. So maybe all these regulations are a waste of time or maybe they will save your children’s life. Why would someone wanna risk their precious cargo so that they don’t have to spend the xtra few minutes strapping their kids in. DON’T HAVE KIDS IF IT’S TOO MUCH TO ASK TO KEEP THEM SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why all the complaints about the safety of our children? I understand that it takes a little longer to secure them but do we not want our kids traveling safely with us?! If you’re driving with an child that is too big for a car seat but should be in a booster sear and you got into an accident, there is a chance that your seatbelt could save your life but a child that isnt properly fastened may not survive. If you feel that isnt worth the extra room in your car or the extra few minutes it takes, then maybe you shouldn’t be a parent!