Seat Belts - Be sure to wear them!

New Jersey's seat belt law has changed yet again, effective immediately.  Under N.J.S.A. 39:3-76.2(f) and (g), all occupants of a passenger automobile, including adults sitting in the back seat of the vehicle, must be wearing a seat belt while the vehicle is in operation.

[Note:  In NJ, "operation" means once the key has been turned in the ignition, even when the vehicle is not in motion.]

There are a few exceptions to this statute including for vehicles manufactured prior to July 1, 1966; people who have doctors' notes explaining that they cannot wear seat belts for medical reasons, passenger automobiles that aren't required to have seat belts under federal law, and passenger automobiles originally constructed with fewer seat belts than seats.

A new accompanying statute, N.J.S.A. 39:3-76.2(n), establishes this new provision as a "secondary statute" under New Jersey traffic law.  The statute shall only be enforced, therefore, when the driver has been detained for some other suspected violation of law.

Each rear seat passenger in violation of the new statute who is over the age of eighteen shall be responsible for any fine imposed for his or her failure to wear a seat belt.

Revoked List: Law Repealed

Effective January 16, 2010, the legislature has repealed the provision of N.J.S.A. 39:40(g) which required a fine of $3,000 to be paid to the Motor Vehicle Commission when the underlying reason for the defendant's license suspension came from a failure to pay timely insurance surcharges.

This sentencing enhancement was imposed in addition to all other penalties and was collected by the MVC.  The penalty was automatically reduced to a judgment against the defendant until paid in full.

Defendants who were assessed this fine since January 16th of this year should make an application for sentence reconsideration pursuant to New Jersey Court Rule 7:9-4.

What does this mean?


Previously, if you were found guilty of or plead guilty to driving while suspended, and the suspension had occurred because you owed insurance surcharges, you were automatically assessed this extra $3,000 penalty.  That part of the law has been repealed, so any instances of this after January 16, 2010, should be altered to comport with the statute as it now reads.

It won't be automatically reversed, so you need to make an application to the court.  Be sure to contact your attorney for help.

Also, follow up with the Motor Vehicle Commission and the credit reporting bureaus to ensure that the judgment will not show up on your credit history.