Categories: LocalMoney

New Jersey officials crack down on drivers with unbelted pets

Increased enforcement under a national seat belt campaign is causing New Jersey officials to crack down on unrestrained pets riding in cars, according to a report from NorthJersey.com.

A 16-year-old state statute defines driving with an unbuckled pet as an act of animal cruelty, subjecting drivers to fines from $250 to $1,000 and up to six months in jail for each offense – that is, for each animal in the car.

Under the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Click It or Ticket” program, the state will be cracking down on offenders, officials from the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Motor Vehicle Commission told the outlet Wednesday.

They suggest using special backseat animal harnesses that attach to seat belts or keeping animals in secured carriers. Colonel of the state Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Frank Rizzo reportedly said that the steep penalties are due to the fact that pets can become projectiles during car crashes. Animals riding in front seats can also become injured if an airbag deploys.

Officials cited a 2010 American Automobile Association survey in which almost 20 percent of respondents admitted to driving with pets in their laps and nearly a third of them said that unrestrained animals in cars were a distraction. Distracted driving is the number one cause of road fatalities, both nationwide and in New Jersey, where 130 peopled died due to the practice in 2010, according to figures from the National Highway Transportation Administration.

The paper notes that, though the pet restraint law has been in effect for well over a decade, drivers were not penalized for having unbuckled adults in the backseat until 2009.

Metro Philadelphia

Recent Posts

Cargo ship that caused Baltimore bridge collapse had power blackout hours before leaving port

By LEA SKENE andDENISE LAVOIE Associated Press Investigators probing the March collapse of the Francis…

23 mins ago

Ways to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month in Philadelphia

The month of May is officially Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, and…

16 hours ago

‘Common Threads’ video series celebrates Philadelphia’s AAPI community

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Visit Philly has debuted…

16 hours ago

Man charged in attack, robbery of off-duty police officer

Authorities have charged a man after an off-duty police officer was attacked and robbed of…

16 hours ago

Police investigating Logan carjacking, shooting

Police released surveillance images and video Tuesday in an effort to identify an armed suspect…

16 hours ago

2 women sought in Point Breeze killing

Detectives are attempting to identify two women after a man was fatally shot Monday evening…

16 hours ago

This website uses cookies.