The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) recommends all children under the age of 12 ride in the backseat.

New Jersey Law states the following:
Children up to 8 yrs. or 80 lbs., must ride in a safety or booster seat in the rear seat of the vehicle. If there is no back seat, the child must sit in front secured by a safety or booster seat.

The Four Steps to Child Passenger Safety:

INFANT SEATS - designed for children up to 1 year old and, usually 20 pounds in weight. Infant seats are always positioned rear-facing. FORWARD-FACING SEATS - designed for children between 20 and 40 pounds. Toddler seats are always positioned forward-facing. BOOSTER SEATS - designed for children between 40 and up to 80 pounds. Booster seats raise a child so the vehicle's lap and shoulder belts fits properly and allow the knees to bend. SEAT BELTS - New Jersey law requires drives and adult front seat passengers to wear their seat belts.. Adults should set the proper example and remember that a child is their most precious cargo.

New Jersey Law requires the use of child safety seats for all children under the age of eight and weighing less than 80 lbs.

Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death of children over the age of six months in the United States. The proper use of child car seats is one of the simplest and most effective methods available for protecting the lives of our young children in the event of a motor vehicle crash.

Child Car Seat Fitting Station:  The Glen Ridge Police Department continues its dedication to traffic and passenger safety by assigning Safety Technicians to the Essex County Child Car Seat Fitting Station, located in Livingston. This effort is run by the Essex County Child Passenger Safety Coalition, and provides inspections and fittings of child car seats in automobiles for free. This service is conducted by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, and is available at 120 Dorsa Avenue in Livingston (where the Volunteer Ambulance Corp is located). The Center is open every Wednesday from 9 am to 4 pm (except major holidays), and no appointment is necessary. This program is supported by the County of Essex and Mountainside Hospital. Or Glen Ridge Residents may call 973-748-4116 to set an appointment with Police Officer Charles Roberts, most times will be after 6:00pm

For more information, please call: 973-429-6896.

Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's web site:  www.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/childseat.cfm to find out about car seat recalls and defects, register your child restraint system for future recall notification or file a child restraint complaint.



New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Red Light Cameras
Automated ticketing makes a return to New Jersey after being kicked out fifteen years ago

The New Jersey state legislature yesterday gave final approval to a bill reversing the state's ban on photo enforcement. If signed into law by Governor John Corzine (D), the measure would allow local governments to install red light cameras within 90 days, reversing the principles behind a law enacted fifteen years banning automated ticketing machines in the wake of intense public outrage.

With little public debate, the authorizing legislation squeaked through yesterday by a single vote in a late Senate session. The first attempt at passage had failed, setting off intense backroom dealing after many lawmakers who opposed cameras had left. The state Assembly's approval came by a wider 49-25 margin.

Assembly Transportation Chairman John S. Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) first wrote the measure with a complex set of requirements that would force localities to adopt one camera manufacturer's specific technology. The initial draft mandated that: "the violation images are captured by a single, digital camera unit which produces a set of two images for each violation." This would have excluded several vendors who use multiple camera setups and wet film to achieve the same result, but a subsequent amendment dropped the single camera requirement.

Local governments had lobbied heavily for the legislation as means of shoring up tight municipal budgets. To take advantage of the new ticketing program, they must submit a list of high-volume intersections to the state transportation department which has final approval over which locations can use cameras. Like Arizona, New Jersey's proposed law would require each ticket to be "served by a law enforcement official." This means that motorists may avoid paying a citation by dodging process servers for forty business days after the date of the alleged violation.

The bill also allows an owner who receives a ticket to file a lawsuit against the driver of a vehicle who generated the citation to recover the amount of the fine and administrative costs. A final provision of the bill mandates that municipalities file annual reports detailing the number of accidents at intersections which have the cameras.

In April 1992, the New Jersey State Police accepted federal gas tax dollars to fund a photo radar pilot project. As soon as signs announcing the program went up, complaints came rushing in. The intensity of the outrage forced the legislature in a nearly unanimous vote to ban photo ticketing less than three months later -- before the state police even had a chance to mail any tickets. The legislation adopted yesterday suspends the 1992 law as it applies to red light cameras, but it does not authorize the use of speed cameras.

Source: Assembly Bill 4314 (New Jersey Legislature)


Biking in New Jersey

39:4-14.5 Definition.
"Bicycle" means any two wheeled vehicle having a rear drive which is solely human powered and having a seat height of 25 inches or greater when the seat is in the lowest adjustable position.

39:4-10 Lights on Bicycles.
When in use at nighttime every bicycle shall be equipped with: 1) A front headlamp emitting a white light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the front; 2) A rear lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of at least 500 feet to the rear; 3) In addition to the red lamp a red reflector may be mounted on the rear.

39:4-11 Audible Signal.
A bicycle must be equipped with a bell or other audible device that can be heard at least 100 feet away, but not a siren or whistle.

39:4-11.1 Brakes. A bicycle must be equipped with a brake that can make wheels skid while stopping on dry, level, clean pavement.

39:4-12 Feet and Hands on Pedals and Handlebars; Carrying Another Person.
Bicyclists should not drive the bicycle with feet removed from the pedals, or with both hands removed from the handlebars, nor practice any trick or fancy driving in a street. Limit passengers to only the number the bicycle is designed and equipped to carry (the number of seats it has).

39:4-14 Hitching on Vehicle Prohibited.
No person riding a bicycle shall attach themselves to any streetcar or vehicle.

39:4-14.1 Rights and Duties of Persons on Bicycles.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway is granted all the rights and subject to all of the duties of the motor vehicle driver.

39:4-14.2, 39:4-10.11 Operating Regulations.
Every person riding a bicycle on a roadway shall ride as near to the right roadside as practicable exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction. A bicyclist may move left under any of the following conditions: 1) To make a left turn from a left turn lane or pocket; 2) To avoid debris, drains, or other hazardous conditions on the right; 3) To pass a slower moving vehicle; 4) To occupy any available lane when traveling at the same speed as other traffic; 5) To travel no more than two abreast when traffic is not impeded, but otherwise ride in single file. Every person riding a bicycle should ride in the same direction as vehicular traffic.

In New Jersey, the law states a bicyclist must obey all state and local automobile driving laws. A parent may be held responsible for the child’s violation of any traffic law.

Title 39:4-10.1
In New Jersey, anyone under 17 years of age that rides a bicycle or is a passenger on a bicycle, or is towed as a passenger by a bicycle must wear a safety helmet.

On August 1, 1998 this helmet law was extended to include roller and inline skates and skateboards. Roller skates means a pair of devices worn on the feet with a set of wheels attached, regardless of the number or placement of those wheels and used to glide or propel the user over the ground.

The definition of bicycle with reference to the helmet legislation is a vehicle with two wheels propelled solely by human power and having pedals, handle bars and a saddle-like seat. The term shall include a bicycle for two or more persons having seats and corresponding pedals arranged in tandem.

All helmets must be properly fastened and fitted. Bicycle helmets must meet the federal standards developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) effective March 10, 1999 that ensure the best head protection and strong chin straps to keep the helmet in place during a fall or collision. Also acceptable are helmets meeting the Snell Memorial Foundation’s 1990 Standard for Protection Headgear.

Exemptions from the helmet requirement are persons who operate or ride a bicycle (as a driver or a passenger) on a roadway closed to motor traffic; on a trail, route, course, boardwalk, path or area set aside only for the use of bicycles. These exemptions do not apply if the areas of operation are adjacent to a roadway and not separated from motor vehicle traffic by a barrier that prevents the bicycle from entering the roadway. Bicyclists or passengers operating in an area where helmets are not required who need to cross a road or highway should walk with the bicycle.

Initial violators of the helmet law will receive warnings. For minors, the parent or legal guardian may be fined a maximum of $25 for the 1 st offense and a maximum of $100 for subsequent offense(s), if lack of parental supervision contributed to the offense.

Bicycle salespersons and rental agents must display a sign at least 15 inches long and 8 inches wide at the point where the transaction is completed when they sell or rent a bicycle. This sign should read: "STATE LAW REQUIRES A BICYCLE RIDER UNDER 17 YEARS TO WEAR A HELMET." In the case of bicycle rentals, the salesperson/rental agent must provide a helmet, if necessary, for a fee.


New Jersey's Fireworks Laws

New Jersey's laws on fireworks, N.J.S.A. 21:2-1 et seq., and N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq. are very restrictive. In some states, fireworks are permitted to be sold to, and used by, the public. However, in New Jersey, only paper or plastic caps for use in toy guns are legal.

Sparkler and novelty items, such as cigarette loads, trick matches, trick noise makers, smoke grenades, toy propellants, firecrackers, roman candles, rockets, etc., are all illegal in this state.

The law states that the sale or possession of fireworks, with intent to sell, is a crime of the fourth degree. Any person found guilty of possessing fireworks with the intention of selling them, can be fined up to $7,500 and/or imprisoned up to 18 months. Any person found using fireworks illegally can be fined up to $500 and/or imprisoned up to 30 days.

If you have any questions or comments about the fireworks laws you may contact the Mine Safety Section of the Division of Public Safety and Occupational Safety and Health at 609-292-2096.

New Jersey Department of Labor May 25, 2004


Smoking Age - Senate Number 2783

Raises minimum age for sale and purchase of tobacco from 18 years-of-age to 19 years-of-age

Penalty

1. civil penalty not less than $250.00 for first violation,
2. not less than $500.00 for the second violation,
3. and $1,000.00 for the third and each subsequent violation.
4. A person 19 years-of- age or older who purchases a tobacco product for a person under 19 years-of-age is a petty disorderly person.
5. A person who sells or offers to sell a tobacco product to a person under 19 years-of-age shall pay a penalty of up to $1,000.00 and may be subject to a license suspension or revocation.

1. Lost or stolen Licenses, report this to the police
2. If your home address is in New Jersey you have you have one week to report a new address change.
3. For a legal name change (marriage, adoption) report the change within two weeks.
4. Out of State Licenses, you have 60 days to apply for a New Jersey License, Commercial Licensing is 30 days. You must present proof of age and identity and surrender your Out0of0State license.
5. New Jersey Graduated Driver Licenses
   1. Special Learner's Permit (Student Permit) eligible age: 16
      1. Must be accompanied by NJ licensed driver, 21-years or older for at least 3 years.
      2. Driving Hours restricted to 5:01 am to 11 pm
      3. They may only have passengers form shared residences plus one additional person.
   2. Provisional License: Age 17
      1. Driving Hours between 5:01 am to midnight.
      2. They may only have passengers form shared residences plus one additional person.
   3. Basic License: Age 18
6. Everyone in the vehicle must wear safety belts. Never use alcohol or drugs when driving. There is a $100 fine for violation of any of the conditions of the permits or provisional license.

If you have any further questions you may contact the Glen Ridge Police - Traffic Division by contacting Sergeant Merritt Carr, M.A. at mjcarr@glenridgenj.org or 973-748- 8400 ext. 172


New State Restrictions for Motorized Scooters

Amendment to R.S. 39:1-1 which supplements Title 39 (New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code)
This bill, which takes effect immediately, forbids “motorized scooters” from being operated on any public street, highway or sidewalk. This bill does permit such vehicles to be operated on private property with the owner of the property’s permission. This bill provides for increasing fines for subsequent offenses. Moreover, it provides for a mandatory forfeiture of a “motorized scooter” for a third offense.

Definitions:

"Motorized bicycle" means a pedal bicycle having a helper motor characterized in that either the maximum piston displacement is less than 50cc. or said motor is rated at no more than 1.5 break power or is powered by an electric drive motor and said bicycle is capable of a maximum speed of no more than 25 miles per hour on a flat surface.

"Motorized scooter" means a miniature motor vehicle and includes, but not limited to, pocket bikes, super pocket bikes, scooters, mini-scooters, sport scooters, mini choppers, mini motorcycles, motorized skateboards and other vehicles with motors not manufactured in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and which have no permanent Federal Safety Certification stickers affixed to the vehicle by the original manufacturer. This term shall not include: electric personal assisted mobility devices, motorized bicycles or low speed vehicles; or motorized wheelchairs, mobility scooters or similar mobility assisting devices used by persons with physical disabilities, or persons whose ambulatory mobility has been impaired by age or illness.

"Motorized skateboard" means a skateboard that is propelled otherwise than by muscular power.

For details click here.

There are two types of safety belt laws: primary and secondary. A primary law allows a law enforcement officer to write a ticket if he or she observes an unbelted driver or passenger. Under a secondary law, an officer cannot ticket anyone for a safety belt violation unless the motorist is stopped for another infraction.

Primary laws are very effective in increasing safety belt use. In 2004, belt use in States with primary laws was 84%, compared with 73% on States without primary laws. Also, teen safety belts use is significantly higher in States with primary safety belt laws than in States with secondary laws.

As of March 2005, 21 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the District of Columbia had primary safety belt laws. The primary law States are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Note New Hampshire is the only State that has no adult safety belt law.

Printed with permission: The International Association of Chiefs of Police Occupant Protection Law Enforcement Program, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and published by the State and Provincial Police Directorate of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, May 2005, Buckle Up America Dispatch.

New Jersey's laws on fireworks, N.J.S.A. 21:2-1 et seq., and N.J.S.A. 21:3-1 et seq. are very restrictive. In some states, fireworks are permitted to be sold to, and used by, the public. However, in New Jersey, only paper or plastic caps for use in toy guns are legal.

Sparkler and novelty items, such as cigarette loads, trick matches, trick noise makers, smoke grenades, toy propellants, firecrackers, roman candles, rockets, etc., are all illegal in this state.

The law states that the sale or possession of fireworks, with intent to sell, is a crime of the fourth degree. Any person found guilty of possessing fireworks with the intention of selling them, can be fined up to $7,500 and/or imprisoned up to 18 months. Any person found using fireworks illegally can be fined up to $500 and/or imprisoned up to 30 days.

If you have any questions or comments about the fireworks laws you may contact the Mine Safety Section of the Division of Public Safety and Occupational Safety and Health at 609-292-2096.