Never fear, this rule is meaningless. Nobody ever smiles in a NJ DMV office. Trust me.
In Maryland, our licenses expire on our birthday and many people wait until then to renew. Happy Birthdays have been song to each other. LOL.

NJ DMV
As someone who just renewed my license this week, I agree with you.
What a bunch of bureaucratic, stupid, nasty people at the NJ DMV!