Bloomfield, NJ Public Conduct: Skateboarding Rules (2026)

Section 497-47 of the Bloomfield Township Code, titled Skating devices, was added in 1965 and amended in 1994. Subsection A sets the age line at 17: a person under 17 years of age shall not operate any roller skates or skateboard unless wearing a properly fitted and fastened helmet. The helmet has to meet the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z90.4 bicycle helmet standard), the Snell Memorial Foundation's 1990 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard or another such standard, as appropriate. A loose or unbuckled helmet does not satisfy the text, which requires it to be properly fitted and fastened.

Enforcement starts with a warning. Under subsection B, a person who violates any requirement of the section is warned of the violation by the enforcing official. The financial exposure then falls on the family, not the child: the parent or legal guardian also can be fined a maximum of $25 for the person's first offense and a maximum of $100 for subsequent offenses, but only if it can be shown that the parent or guardian failed to exercise reasonable supervision or control over the person's conduct.

The section also contains a waiver. Penalties for failure to wear a helmet and kneepads can be waived if the offender or the parent or legal guardian presents suitable proof that an approved helmet and kneepads were owned at the time of the violation or have been purchased since the violation occurred. The penalty sentence refers to kneepads, although the equipment requirement in subsection A names only the helmet.

This is the only provision in the Township Code text reviewed for this page that mentions skateboards or roller skates by name. A separate rule, § 497-42, bars playing baseball, cricket or any game of ball in the streets, and § 497-39 prohibits placing things in a street that impede public use. The Township Council's helmet rule applies throughout Bloomfield Township, not only in business districts.