Do You Drive While Petting?
Be Safe with Your Dog!
Pet Concern 1: Distraction
In unrestrained animal in the car can be unpredictable and cause the driver to take their eyes off of the road for a few seconds. Or you may just want to pet or play with them while driving. This distraction can be all that is necessary to cause an accident. Your pet will not realize that activity which is perfectly acceptable when outside the car is distracting to the driver and therefore potentially dangerous while in a moving vehicle.
Pet Concern 2: Unrestrained Large Dogs
An unrestrained large dog is at serious risk of injury to itself AND to other occupants in the event of a crash. An 80-pound dog that is unrestrained during a crash at 30 mph exerts 2400 pounds of force in a vehicle, according to the Chicago Tribune. You don't want anything heavy to be loose when the car is rapidly slowing down, due to emergency braking or collision.
Pet Concern 2: Air Bags
If a dog is on your lap or riding unrestrained in a front seat with an air bag, the force of the air bag can seriously injure or kill a small dog and send a large dog flying (see above!). Air bag forces and volumes were designed for adult humans and can be very dangerous for dogs unless properly restrained.
Pet Concern 3: Overly Protective Pet
In the event of a crash, emergency responders may be forced to deal with a territorial and protective dog trying to defend its owner. In some cases, authorities have had to shoot the animal in order to help the other occupants. You don't want this to happen to your dog!
Pet Concern 4: Protect Yourself and Your Pet
Only 17 percent of dog owners currently use restraint systems when they take their dog on a car trip, while 55 percent pet their dogs while driving and 21 percent hold them in their laps. 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2008 and 500,000 more were injured, according to the NHTSA. This is a serious issue and cell phones aren't the only culprit. If you are a dog owner, you owe it to yourself and your pet to take proper precautions when driving with your dog. One source of dog products for travel is Kurgo at www.kurgo.com. NOTE: This is not an endorsement of these products, merely a starting point for your search.
Sources:
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/18/2159993/in-the-car-mans-best-friend-is.html
Published by Mike Oberg
I am a retired engineer who enjoys photography. I post slideshows of my pictures and write articles on a range of topics. My daughter Maria Roth and my wife Mary Oberg are both AC contributors. View profile
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32 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent article ♥ thanks for sharing. Thanks for directing me here, Mike, this is a fantastic write.
I have no dogs. They scare me. But you possibly saved some lives with your fine article. (Yes - you are a true writer. Never doubt it.)
My dogs are too big for my lap. They like to sit in the passenger seat. Never thought about the airbag. Thanks.
Guilty - I need to stop letting my puppy sit on my lap. Another thing is to not let dogs stick their heads out the window of a moving vehicle...they can get seriously injured doing this.
Wow - forget texting...this is so true! Everyone has their dogs in their laps. I used to do this with my precious late doggie, but in the back of my mind was always the danger. She was just so irresistible, though!
Good advice. It reminds me of one of my favorite Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey: "When we would go for a drive in the family car, I used to love to stick my head out the window, until one time we passed an oncoming car and my head knocked off a dog's head." Haha
Good article. I am always really nervous when my dog is in the car. I drive a little slower than normal and I am really cautious.
Thanks, Sondra. We are all getting a better look at our fellow contributors!
Great seeing your handsome Face. Now I know who is writing the great articles.
Oh, you meant animals! I thought you meant people. ;)