What parents need to know about N.J.’s car seat law – NJ.com
Posted October 17, 2018 at 11:00 AM | Updated October 23, 2018 at 03:23 PM
By Kelly Heyboer | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Car seats should be easy: Buy one. Install it in your car. When your kid gets too big, move them into the next size seat.
But, New Jersey parents know it’s not that simple. The Garden State has one of toughest car seat laws in the nation, with complex rules and steep fines for families that fail to strap their children into the right seats.
The state’s revised seatbelt law, which went into effect in 2015, has led to thousands of tickets handed out to drivers in cars where children were either unbuckled or sitting in the wrong type of car seat, according to state data.
Is your kid in the right seat? When can you turn rear-facing car seats around? When can kids move to a booster or sit in the front seat?
Here’s what you need to know about New Jersey’s law:
(AP file photo)
Newborns to age 2:
A child under age 2 and under 30 lbs. must be in a rear-facing car seat with a five-point harness, according to state law.
Many other states say you can turn your child’s seat around to be front-facing at age 1. But, New Jersey’s law was rewritten in 2015 to say kids must stay rear-facing until age 2 because data says young children are far less likely to die in accidents if they face the back of the vehicle.
Yes, that means toddlers under 2 who are tall or have long legs must remain rear-facing in New Jersey even if their knees are bent and their feet are pressed against the back seat of the car, state officials say.
(AP file photo)
Ages 2 to 4:
A child under age 4 and 40 lbs. must remain in either a rear-facing or a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness in the back seat of a vehicle.
No, New Jersey law does not allow kids under age 4 to move to booster seats or car seats that use only the car’s shoulder belts. Until age 4 and 40 lbs., they are required to stay in car seats with a five-point harness.
(AP file photo)
Ages 4 to 8:
A child under age 8 and 57 inches should stay in a car seat until they reach the upper limits of the car seat’s capacity, according to the law. Then, they can move to a booster seat with a regular seat belt.
So, if a tall kid is 58 inches tall, but still 7 years old, he or she can move to an adult seat belt under New Jersey’s law. If a kid has turned 8, he or she can also move to a regular adult seat belt, no matter what the child weighs, state officials said.
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When can kids move to the front seat?