Out of all the reasons for child deaths, road accidents have to be the saddest and the most gruesome of all. While accidents happen unintentionally, preventive steps are taken voluntarily by using specific car seats. Child and booster seats have proven effective for children, reducing the risks of injuries to them by over 50 percent in the last few years.
Based on the recommendation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), New Jersey has a few specific car seat laws for a more effective and proactive approach to child safety against injuries and fatalities. Following are all the details that you should know about them:
Age-Wise Regulations About Car Seats In New Jersey
The Department of Law and Public Safety of New Jersey has charted out four different categories of the usage of car seats, broadly categorized by factors including age and weight of the individual. These categories are as follows:
Age: Birth to 2-year-old
- Children under 30 lbs in this age group should remain seated in a rear-facing child seat with a five-point harness.
- This child seat should be on the rear seat of the vehicle.
- Even if the knees of the children are bent, or they have long legs, they should use a rear-facing child seat, with their feet facing the backrest of the rear seats.
Age: 2-year-old to 4-year-old
- Children in this age group weighing under 40 lbs should remain seated in either a rear-facing or a front-facing child seat.
- The direction of the child’s seat should be suitable for the height and length of the child’s feet. The seat can be forward-facing for optimal comfort if the child is taller than the limit.
- The seat for the children in this age group should have a five-point harness in the vehicle’s back seat.
Age: 4-year-old to 8-year-old
- Children in this age group who are less than 57 inches tall have to use a booster seat in the vehicle’s back seat.
- Children taller than 57 inches can use the regular seat with a five-point harness and seat belts.
Age: 8-year-old or above
- Children aged 8 years or beyond are fully eligible to use a regular car seat with seat belts but in the vehicle’s rear seats.
- According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children should sit in the rear seats, not in front seats, till they turn 12.
- If there are no rear seats in the vehicle, such as a two-seater sports car or a two-door pickup truck, the child can sit in a child seat or booster seat suitable for weight and height.
Common Car Seat Mistakes
The installation of a child seat or booster seat might seem very simple for even beginners. However, according to a survey by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), around 46 percent of vehicle owners install the child or booster seat incorrectly.
The common mistakes people make while installing child or booster seats are as follows:
- Loose installation of the seat
- Failing to secure a child seat while moving it from one vehicle to another
- Not reading instructions of car seat’s manufacturer
- Too much slack in the five-point safety harness of the seat
- Improper use of top tether and lower anchors in forward-facing child or booster seat
Such mistakes during the installation of a child seat or booster seat can result in injury or even death in an accident.
Difference Between Child Seats And Booster Seats
Many people believe that the child and booster seats are the same, but they have significant differences, particularly in their designs.
Child seat
- Smaller in size, the child seats are suitable for kids aged up to 4 years.
- These seats have raised edges and curved backrests that protect a child in an accident.
- These seats also have a three-point or five-point seat belt harness, which distributes the pressure in an impact to protect softer body parts.
Booster seat
- The booster seats are larger than child seats and are recommended for children between the ages of 4 and 12.
- Unlike child seats, booster seats are used with the seat belt.
- These seats have adjustable backrests and headrests for a more flexible seating posture. The backrest has a belt guider that wraps around the hip and shoulder for added protection.
- For children older than 6 years, booster seats without a backrest are available. The belt guiders of these seats offer protection only around the hip and not the shoulders.
- For longer drives, booster seats with a backrest are more recommendable.
In some cases, children aged four to seven make a transition from a child seat to a proper seat with a seat belt without using a booster seat in the middle. This shouldn’t be the case because a booster seat allows a proper transition with proper snugging of shoulder belts. It prevents improper snugging of a car’s seat belt against the neck or face in case the booster seat is not used.
Fines On Violation Of Car Seat Laws In New Jersey
One of the most common mistakes for which parents are penalized is for making children before 2 years old sit in forward-facing child seats. For this mistake and more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revised the penalties for child car seat violations in September 2023.
According to the updated laws, the parents violating the car seat laws are penalized up to $75, up from the $10-$25 fine charged previously. Under the new rules, once you get a ticket, you can’t claim in court that you were following the recommended age and weight conditions, and eventually, you have to pay the said fine.
The Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children should not sit in the rear seats until they are 12 years old.
Children should transition to a booster seat from a child seat after they turn four and use it until they are 12 years old.
Booster seats should be used by children compulsorily who weigh under 80 lbs or up to the age of 8.
Baby car seats, or child seats, should be used for children from birth until they are 4 years old.
There is a fine of up to $75 for violating car seat laws in New Jersey.
