Car Safety Issues Addressed With New Child Safety Laws in New Jersey

Petrillo & Goldberg Law.

Pennsauken, NJ (Law Firm Newswire) October 28, 2015 – There are new child safety laws in New Jersey that parents must follow when driving their children.

The rules became effective Sept. 1, and comply with recommendations set forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). One of the requirements is that children below the age of two whose weight is less than 30 pounds must be securely fastened in a seat that faces toward the rear and has a five-point harness.

Prior to the passage of the new law, parents had the option of placing their one-year-old child in the car seat face forward provided that the child’s weight exceeded 20 pounds. However, AAA Spokesperson Cathleen Lewis stated that the forward movement that propels their head forward puts a substantial amount of pressure on their neck and spine. And in the event that the parent turns the child around too quickly, the child will suffer more severe neck and spinal injuries.

Prominent New Jersey personal injury attorneys Petrillo & Goldberg said, “The latest rules represent an improvement over the previous law, and will likely help prevent young children from being severely injured or losing their lives in car accidents.”

The new regulation also states that children between ages two and four whose weight is 40 pounds or less are allowed to be in a seat that faces the rear or the front. The law goes on to say that children who are between ages four and eight whose height is less than 57 inches are required to be in a seat that faces the front or in a booster seat.

Furthermore, in vehicles that do not have a seat in the rear, such as a pick-up truck or a sports car, a child can be placed in a car seat or a booster seat in the front seat. However, the vehicle’s airbag on the passenger side is required to be disabled or turned off if a baby or toddler is riding in a car seat that faces the rear, and the car seat is attached to the front seat. This is because the impact of the airbag can cause injury to small children upon deployment.

According to legislators, New Jersey’s previous car seat laws were ambiguous and out-dated. And given the progress that has been made with regard to research and technological advances in car safety, recommendations of ways to safeguard children in vehicles are constantly evolving.

Those who fail to comply with the new laws may be fined an amount ranging from $50 to $75; this represents a marked increase from the previous fines of $10 to $25. There are police officers and firefighters throughout New Jersey willing to assist parents and caregivers in adhering to the new rules.

Learn more at http://www.petrilloandgoldberg.com/

Petrillo & Goldberg Law

6951 North Park Drive
Pennsauken, NJ 08109

19 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

70 South Broad Street
Woodbury, NJ 08096

Phone: 856-486-4343
Fax: 856:486-7979

• Selection of expert witnesses in personal injury cases in Pennsylvania
  Pursuant to a news article about expert witnesses in complex cases, parties may not enter into a settlement of a lawsuit until the issuance of reports or testimony by experts regarding knowledge held by an ordinary person and the expert. Expert testimony can be critical to the amount of damages a plaintiff in a personal […]
• Victim’s family files wrongful death claim against NASCAR star Tony Stewart
  Last year, a 20-year-old sprint car driver named Kevin Ward Jr. was hit and killed by a vehicle driven by NASCAR star Tony Stewart. Ward’s parents allege that Stewart lost his temper when he rammed into Ward, and they have filed a wrongful death claim against Stewart. The incident occurred in August 2014 at Canandaigua […]
• Construction worker who suffered injury during rescue entitled to workers compensation
  A Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania panel issued a ruling that a construction worker who was injured while performing a rescue is entitled to workers compensation. The court did not accept the contention put forth by Franklin Pound’s employer, who argued that Pound was not engaged in work at the time at which he tried to […]
• New Jersey personal injury case offers example of where immunity from liability did not apply
  New Jersey’s Charitable Immunity Act generally protects charitable organizations from lawsuits, a fact that is important for an individual to keep in mind should he or she sustain an injury while at, say, the property of a nonprofit organization such as a church or school. However, there are circumstances in which an organization will claim […]
• Deadly Pennsylvania zinc plant explosion put spotlight on hazardous conditions
  Many cases involving premises liability bring up the question of whether a landowner has negligently allowed hazardous conditions to remain on his or her property that have caused injury to an individual who was legitimately on that property when the injury occurred. A recent case from Pennsylvania has come to light in which a zinc […]