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BY GINA G. SCALA
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
It’s that time of year when drivers cruise along highways and scenic back roads with the windows down, wind blowing through their hair, music blaring and their faithful four-legged canine riding with his/her head out of the window.
The image is almost as old as time, and this year it’s an image travelers will be seeing less and less, thanks to increased enforcement under the national Click It or Ticket program.
Under New Jersey Statute 4:22-18, unrestrained pets in vehicles is an act of animal cruelty, and drivers who don’t secure their pooch in a pet seat belt will be subject to fines, ranging from $250 to $1,000 and as much as six months in jail.
“That’s for each offense,” Col. Frank Rizzo, police superintendent for the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty, said Wednesday, according to The Bergen Record. “So, if you have more than one animal loose in your car, just do the math…”
“Some people tell us they like to let their pets hang their heads out the window to take in the fresh air,” Rizzo said, “but dogs and cats become projectiles in a crash.”
On its website, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals offers tips for safe traveling with your pet, and the number one item on their list is making sure your “dog is securely fastened or confined during car trips.”
A large dog in your lap or a small one bouncing around the accelerator pedal can be distracting and dangerous—and should you have an accident, your unrestrained dog might be thrown about the cab, according to the ASPCA tips.
The ASPCA advises dogs be fastened in the back seat of the vehicle. Dogs can be injured or even killed if you have an accident and an airbag deploys, if they are riding in the front seat.
A dog seat belt is “specially designed for the bodies of dogs, so they are a bit different from belts that people use,” according to Canine Auto. It can be positioned in two different ways depending on how your dog prefers to sit.
The Click It or Ticket program is the most successful seat belt enforcement campaign ever, helping to increase the national seat belt usage rate, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Regardless, the seatbelt law for animals is the most ridiculous tJKhing I've ever heard. My brother has 5 large dogs. Does he have to buy a van now so that each dog has its own seat if he drives to N J?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0OmNR4MxEk&feature=player_embedded
I'm glad to see this finally happen to address all those a-holes that ride with thier dog on thier lap.
Read the law for yourself!
4:22-18. Carrying animal in cruel, inhumane manner; disorderly persons offense
A person who shall carry, or cause to be carried, a living animal or creature in or upon a vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhumane manner, shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and punished as provided in subsection a. of R.S.4:22-17.
CREDIT(S)
Amended by L.1995, c. 355, § 3, eff. Jan. 5, 1996; L.1996, c. 64, § 2, eff. July 12, 1996; L.2001, c. 229, § 2, eff. Aug. 27, 2001.
I think people who leave their dogs in a hot car at the beach or store or people who transport large numbers of animals improperly are targeted here.
These people are out of control!
Am I being cruel because I do not have enough seat belts for me and my family. Should I return some of the dogs to the shelter I recieved them?
Hello, dogs are being tied outside 24/7 and we are worried if the dogs are wearing seat belts??????
Trenton has focused on NJ Drivers as a source of income because there are an awful lot of us to make money from. The amount we are charged for fines is among the highest in the country and this pet law is just another example of this policy by our elected officials. Does anyone recall the law that the state lawmakers passed allowing the installation of the automated traffic cameras? I have two children who drive and on their own can not afford to buy insurance in this state..who remembers auto insurance reform.
This should be a wake up call for all of us in this State and put an end to the abuse of citizens by our State Goverment. Gov Christie you talk a good game but lets see how the voters in those red states with their hunting and sport dogs in the back of their pickup trucks feel about your pet law when you are seeking the Republican Nomination.... I for one will be there to remind them!
I like almost everything Governor Christy has done so far with this state but if this Law is real, I will Never vote for him no matter what position he is running for.
cause a big distraction for a driver. This law is absurd. The blind are told and trained to keep there guide dogs on the floor, with the new law they will need to occupy a seat in order to ride in a vehicle and that would include a taxi and a bus. Will they have to pay a extra charge for this? Who ever thought that this should be mandatory is delusional, maybe next we should put seat belts on our groceries , suit cases , and back packs. God forbid we allow a purse to sit on a seat unsecured.
You are not going, not buying ,staying away from NJ.
Perhaps the AG's office should review this matter and advise LE on how to deal with this.
The NJ seat belt law, to my knowledge, does not apply to, and never has been extended to cover non-human "passengers." The real test is that, before there was a seat belt mandate, no adult ever was prosecuted for child abuse for failing to have a seat belt on a child. The idea that we would criminalize the same conduct with respect to a pet is ludicrous. I don't know where Col. Rizzo is getting his information. He may have been riding to long with his head out the window.
A person who shall carry, or cause to be carried, a living animal or creature in or upon a vehicle or otherwise, in a cruel or inhumane manner, shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense and punished as provided in subsection a. of R.S.4:22-17.
Which reads;
4:22-17. Cruelty; disorderly persons offense
a. A person who shall:
Inflict unnecessary cruelty upon a living animal or creature, by any direct or indirect means, including but not limited to through the use of another living animal or creature; or unnecessarily fail to provide a living animal or creature of which the person has charge either as an owner or otherwise with proper food, drink, shelter or protection from the weather ; or leave it unattended in a vehicle under inhumane conditions adverse to the health or welfare of the living animal or creature--
Shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense, and notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:43-3 to the contrary, for every such offense shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $1,000, or be imprisoned for a term of not more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.