September 1st, 2010 | 
Author: Some years ago, I was driving on I-45 a few cars behind some kid in a pickup with a Rottweiler riding in the back. The kid swerved; the dog fell out. On the freeway. At 65 miles per hour. You don’t need to know the rest, and I wish I didn’t. It made me an absolute believer that dogs don’t belong in the back of a truck. It’s just too dangerous.
But did you know it can be just as dangerous to have an unrestrained pet INSIDE your vehicle?
Let me begin by saying I’m guilty of this too, especially if I’m only going a few blocks. But the fact is that every pet should be secured inside the vehicle, for his safety and yours. According to pet safety website www.barkbuckleup.com, 98% of all people travel with their pets unrestrained inside the vehicle. That same website goes on to tell us that a 60 pound dog can become a 2700 pound flying projectile if the driver wrecks at a speed of only 35 mph. How often do we really drive 35 mph?
Some of the risks of having your pet loose in the vehicle are as follows:
1. That flying projectile can kill or seriously injure the people in the vehicle. Insurance companies say that small pets often become airborne in a wreck and hit someone riding in the front seat in the back of the head, with catastrophic consequences.
2. It drastically increases the likelihood of injury or death for the animal, just as going without a seatbelt does for humans.
3. An unrestrained pet can escape from a wrecked vehicle and either disappear or run into traffic.
4. An upset or injured pet may behave aggressively toward first responders, either to protect his people or because he himself is hurt and confused. Any delay in first response aid can be seriously dangerous to both the animal and the people.
5. Even without an actual wreck, an unrestrained pet can fall off the seat, accidentally fall out an open window, accidentally lock or unlock doors, raise or lower windows, get underfoot, and in general cause havoc. The last time I picked my cousin’s boxer up from the vet, I had to pull over twice to explain that she did not have a driver’s license and therefore was to keep her hyperactive ninety pound self in the backseat. It would have been much safer to have her restrained.
What is the best choice for restraint? Small dogs do well in canine car seats, which often elevate a small dog so that he can see out, which makes him less likely to get carsick. Canine seatbelts are another good option; it’s a harness, usually made of seatbelt material, that buckles to a seatbelt through a loop on the harness. The wide straps are safer than the narrow straps of a traditional harness, because they distribute the force of the dog’s weight in the event of a crash or sudden stop. These are usually very inexpensive and readily available at pet retailers like Petsmart or Petco. Crates are always a safe choice, and make the dog easier to handle if you need to get him out of the vehicle quickly.
After review these statistics, Bumble’s going back into his car harness. Even for short trips.
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Please comment on traveling with cats. Thank you
Pat, I know your cats don’t care for being crated, but in my opinion a crate is the safest place for a cat in a moving vehicle. (You might try different configurations – cover the crate, try a bigger/smaller one, wire instead of mesh – you might find one that they tolerate better.) Cats fit into small spaces where dogs don’t, and are capable of absolute havoc and quick escapes through a cracked window or opening/closing door. However, if your cats will tolerate it, you can use the exact same carseats or seatbelts that you would use for a small dog of comparable size. I would only try that if your cat is leash trained, which most are not. One more option…on fosterandsmith.com, there is a product called a cat tube, that is sort of a cross between a crate and a carseat.