The following is an ‘Ask The Chief’ question submitted to TLS, and the Chief’s response. Email your questions for the Chief to [email protected].

Question:

Hi,

I was just wondering what the law is about car seats. Until what age do kids need to sit backwards? Also, what age can a child sit in the front seat?

The Chief’s Response, via the Traffic Safety Department:

Good Afternoon,

I was forwarded your questions concerning the car seat laws and front seat passenger law. Below is the information to answer the car seat question.

Concerning the age to be a front seat passenger actually not specifically addressed in New Jersey law. Based on part d of the below guide lines the child would have to be over 8 years of age or 57 inches in height.

However, the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevents is to keep all children 12 and under buckled in the rear seat.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

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Any child under the age of 8 years old and a height of 57 inches shall be secured as follows in the rear seat of a motor vehicle:

a. A child under the age of 2 years and 30 pounds shall be secured in a rear-facing seat equipped with a 5-point harness.

b. A child under the age of 4 years and 40 pounds shall be secured as described in (a) until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing seat, then in a forward-facing child restraint equipped with a 5-point harness.

c. A child under the age of 8 and a height of 57 inches shall be secured as described in (a) or (b) until they reach the upper limits of the rear-facing or forward-facing seat, then in a belt positioning booster seat.

d. A child over 8 years of age or 57 inches in height must be properly secured by a seat belt.

If there are no rear seats, the child shall be secured as described above in the front seat except that no child shall be secured in a rear-facing seat in the front seat of any vehicle that is equipped with an active passenger-side airbag. The aforementioned is acceptable if the airbag is de-activated.

Ptl. David Silberstein #312
Lakewood Police Department
Special Operations Division
Traffic Safety Unit

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Have a question for the Chief? Email it to [email protected]