The bad news: The law is so subjective, there's bound to be some very angry parents who end up getting a ticket because their 3rd grader who's nearly 5 feet tall isn't in a five-point harness.
Oh yes, there are some problems causing a lot of confusion. Let's break it down.
The first part of the law deals with children under 2 years old who are under 30 pounds. They now must be in a rear-facing car seat with a five-point harness. So far, so good. Straightforward and easy enough to handle.
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Second part of the law is for kids under 4 years old and under 40 pounds, and this is where the grey area creeps in. These kids must also be rear-facing until they reach the "upper limits of the rear-facing seat," at which point they can be turned around and sit forward-facing, but still in a five-point harness. And the grey here is the "upper limit" part. Different car seat manufacturers, different weight limits. Car seats that are only meant to be rear-facing usually max out at 30 pounds, whereas convertible car seats -- they can go either way -- max out at all different levels, from 35 to 50 pounds.
Already, you can see the issue here. If I have a car seat where the manufacturer states 35 pounds is the max weight for it to be used forward-facing, and my kid is 37 pounds but under 4 years old ... well, according to the law, it would seem I would need to purchase a new car seat.
But that seems ridiculous.
As if this isn't confusing enough, the third part of the law is so grey, even Jerry Garcia wouldn't be able to see the silver lining.
It states kids under the age of 8 and a height of 57 inches need to be in a rear-facing or forward-facing five-point harness until they reach the "upper limits" of the car seat and then they go into a booster.
Problem here? Now we're talking height instead of weight. Many car seat manufacturers don't mess with a height requirement, instead instructing parents to take their kids out of the seat if their ears are over the top of the headrest, or if their shoulders are above the highest shoulder strap line, or if they can hop on one foot while whistling "Dixie." And in car seats where there is a height limit, the lowest I found was 43 inches, the highest I found was 53 inches, and I couldn't find one higher. Not saying there isn't one, just that I couldn't find one. And I looked. Hard. Which means the law, as written, is seemingly impossible to follow.
So what's a parent to do?
Far as I can see, wing it. Not much else to do. I can't imagine police officers are going to be equipped with tape measures, and I also doubt they'll be issuing tickets to people unless they see some gross misconduct when it comes to child safety.
Of course, and as I stated in the beginning, this doesn't mean you won't get a ticket if an officer thinks your 4-year-old in a booster seat should be in a 5-point-harness.
"If it's on the books, we have to enforce the law," said Lt. Brian Polite of the New Jersey State Police.
But the problem, as outlined here, is the law is actually vague and subjective and depends wholly on which brand of car seat you happen to own, and that's ridiculous.
"The way the law is written, any child that exceeds the top height or weight of the manufacturer would be placed in a booster seat," said Ray Woods, a legislative aide to Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, who sponsored the bill in the assembly, and who is speaking about the third part of the law.
And if the police officer doesn't agree?
"I would keep the documentation from your old car seat," Woods said, adding the bill actually came from the state Senate, that I should probably talk to Sen. James Beach, who wrote the legislation.
I called. Didn't get a call back.
Listen: The old law was simple -- under 8 years old and under 80 pounds, the child had to be restrained in either a car seat or booster. I suppose some improvement on that law was needed, but this new law seems to only create confusion.
If you get a ticket, give me a call. Please. It's front page material at that point.
Jeff Edelstein is a columnist for The Trentonian. He can be reached at jedelstein@trentonian.com, facebook.com/jeffreyedelstein and @jeffedelstein on Twitter.
http://www.trentonian.com/opinion/20150813/jeff-edelstein-new-car-seat-laws-in-new-jersey-are-a-confusing-mess
