We all smile at the sight of a dog’s joyful, goofy face hanging out of a car window, tongue flapping, but you don’t have to think about it too hard to realize that’s not a safe practice.
According to a survey CarInsurance.com did with 1,000 motorists, 72 percent said they take their pets (overwhelmingly dogs) with them in the car. Nearly the same number, 67 percent, admitted they don’t practice safety measures by properly restraining their pets while they drive.
Not only that, 14% of drivers who travel with their pets said they’ve either had a “near miss” or actually been in an accident due to their pet distracting them, said Michelle Megna, managing editor of CarInsurance.com.
Twenty-seven percent of the pet-carrying respondents said they “never” use restraints; 40 percent said “sometimes.”
Thirty-three percent said they “always” use restraints. About the same number, 36 percent, said they let their pets sit in their laps when they drive. Men (43 percent) were more likely to do that than women (29 percent).
Even using a restraint is no guarantee of safety. According to a research by Subaru of America, Inc. and the Center for Pet Safety, a lot of pet safety restraints on the market performed poorly in crash tests, including some that suffered “catastrophic failure.”
