Child Safety Seats
The Cranford Police Department offers free child safety seat inspections. To make an appointment to have your child safety seat checked, call D/Sgt. Russell Luedecker or Det. Corey LoForte at (908) 709-7335, or Officer Ali Muhammad at (908) 272-8989. Appointments can be made weekdays between the hours of 7:30AM and 4:30PM.
New Jersey’s child passenger safety law requires the following:
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 forwardfacing 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.
Seat Belt Use
- Studies show seat belts do save lives and reduce injuries during crashes.
Seat belts work with air bags to protect occupants. Air bags alone are not enough to safeguard occupants. - More than 2,000 unbuckled drivers and front seat passengers died on New Jersey’s roadways in the past 10 years.
- Approximately 700 unbuckled drivers and front seat passengers were thrown out of their vehicles during crashes and killed in the past 10 years.
New Jersey’s Seat Belt Law:
(N.J.S.A. 39:3-76.2f)
- Applies to all passenger vehicles including vans, pickup trucks and SUV’s, that are required to be equipped with seat belts.
- Applies to all passengers, who are at least 8 years of age but less than 18 years of age, and each driver and front seat passenger of a passenger automobile, operated on a street or highway. All occupants are required to wear a properly adjusted and fastened seat belt system.
- Makes the driver responsible for proper seat beltuse by all occupants who are under the age of 18.
Each year for two weeks around Memorial Day the Cranford Police Department joins law enforcement officers throughout New Jersey in stepped up enforcement and education of the state’s Primary Seat Belt law. The enforcement and education campaign comes as part of the nationwide Click It or Ticket mobilization. The goal of the program is to increase the statewide safety belt usage rate.
Safety belt use is especially important for teens and young adults. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 34 in the United States. During the mobilization period the Cranford Police Department conducts a zero tolerance safety belt enforcement campaign. Motorists who are not buckled up are issued a ticket.