NJ tough new car seat laws begins today

Unclear if your driving from NY to NJ do u have to flip the car seat around at the state line?

The revised law adds additional regulations with specific age and weight limits. Among the new rules:

Birth 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. That means toddlers who are tall or have long legs must remain rear-facing even if their feet are pressed against the back seat of the car. Once a child reaches either age 2 or 30 lbs., the car seat can be turned around to face forward.


Ages 2 to 4: Children 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 at least until they are 4 years old or 40 lbs. Then, they can move to a booster seat.


Ages 4 to 8: Children must remain in a booster seat in the back seat of a vehicle until they are at least 8 years old or 57 inches tall. Once they reach that age or height, they can use the regular adult seat belts.

Front seats: If a vehicle doesn't have a back seat (like a pick-up truck or a sports car), a child can ride in the front seat in a car seat or a booster seat. But the vehicle's passenger-side airbag must be disabled or shut off if a baby or toddler is using a rear-facing car seat strapped into the front seat of the vehicle. The force of air bags can injure small children if they deploy.

Fines: The fines for violating New Jersey's car seat law are currently $10 to $25. Under the revised legislation, they are going up to $50 to $75 in September.

Exemptions: You can no longer get out of a ticket by claiming to the court that you were following the manufacturer's weight and age recommendations for your child's car seat. That provision was removed from the new version of the law.

The law makes no mention of how a police officer would verify a child's age, height or weight when issuing a driver a citation for violating the law.

The state Department of Law and Public Safety will distribute materials explaining the types of car seats and booster seats to car dealers, parent groups, hospitals and the public, according to the legislation.