Not buckling up your pet in the car can mean big fines

[Hum]

Judging from the alarming number of summonses issued so far for failing to buckle up in the back seat, motorists don?t seem overly concerned about the current Click It or Ticket crackdown. After all, most unrestrained drivers and passengers can afford a measly $46 fine.

But if you drive with an unrestrained pet, don?t expect a slap on the wrist.

Penalties range from $250 to $1,000 and as much as six months in jail.

?That?s for each offense,? Col. Frank Rizzo told reporters Wednesday at Overlook County Park in Leonia. ?So, if you have more than one animal loose in your car, just do the math??

Rizzo, police superintendent for the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, delivered this message near the park?s dog run as representatives of the SPCA and the Motor Vehicle Commission used their pets to demonstrated inexpensive systems designed to keep Fido and Tabby safe in a crash. Some pet owners use small cages, but most buy special seats and harnesses that attach directly to existing seat belts.

?It?s much cheaper to invest about $25 in a restraint system than to deal with the consequences of a crash,? said MVC Chief Administrator Ray Martinez as he helped hook Finley, his frisky golden retriever-poodle mix, into a harness.

The consequences can be more severe than many pet owners realize.

?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.?

That reason remains the rationale for the relatively high fine. Although few if any violators have received jail terms, a 16-year-old New Jersey statute ? 4:22-18 ? imposes harsh penalties because it defines unrestrained pets in cars as animal cruelty, said the SPCA superintendent.

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[ozgeek]

the wat? :s

[Colin McGregor]

how about not bringing them unless its to a vet or dropping them off somewhere??? Im so sick of these idiots on the road with thier dogs in the front seat, then they go in a bank or store and leave the pet in the car. You do know it probably prefers being asleep at home and not being dragged around the city by your dumbass.

[Pam14160]

Come on people, enough of his already. Just another way of getting into folk's billfolds.

[srbeen]

can't wait for the grocery restraint.