Would you transport your child
in your car without a car seat or seat belt? If you answered “no,”
then why would you transport your pet in your automobile without proper
safety restraints?
Any pet parent who drives their dog to their veterinarian for a
health check up knows how distracting it is to be driving with Fido
fumbling to get on your lap or licking your ear. Distractions aside,
what happens when — God forbid – you get into a collision with another
vehicle? Fido just became a projectile potentially causing harm to him
and the human occupants.
Lindsey A. Wolko, Founder, Center for Pet Safety, had a similar
experience in 2004. She was driving with her English cocker spaniel,
Maggie — secured in her harness attached to a seatbelt in the back seat —
when she suddenly needed to break and swerve in order to avoid a
collision. The accident was avoided but Maggie sustained injuries to
her spine and hip. The harness, in essence, hog-tied the dog from the
force of suddenly applying the brakes.
Center for Pet Safety is Born
Wolko had long worked in the pet product industry and the experience
with Maggie made her want to evaluate the efficacy of pet “safety”
products. She researched the products and found there are no
regulations mandating safety testing for pet restraints.
The experience with Maggie and her subsequent inquiries into pet safety restraints led Wolko to form the
Center for Pet Safety, a non-profit 501(c) 3 advocacy organization aimed at scientifically studying companion animal safety products.
Testing Results Thus Far
In 2011, the Center for Pet Safety tested four harnesses via an
independent testing laboratory. The same motor vehicle safety standards
were applied as are used in testing child safety car seats. A 55 pound
test dog —
NO live animals are used in testing — was developed because the average size dog in the U.S. is 55 pounds and up. The results were devastating.
Simulating a 30 mile per hour collision,
all four harnesses
failed! The first one provided too much slack and the test dog was sent
crashing into the back of the front seat. The next two harnesses broke
and turned the test dog into a projectile. But the fourth was the most
surprising. The harness slid up to the test dog’s neck upon impact.
“I don’t think that there’s any doubt that those dogs would have been
severely injured, if not fatally injured” said Wolko in a
Today Show video.
Laws Addressing Pet Safety in Automobiles
There was a large hullaballoo
last year in New Jersey over the proposed Dog Seat Belt Law
calling for fines of $250 up to $1,000 and a charge of animal cruelty.
Legislators proposed it because they felt it makes the canine safer
while driving in a car. Governor
Chris Christie
said “It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life” and vowed
to veto the bill if it makes it to his desk for signature.
Other states
have laws addressing pet safety in vehicles. In Hawaii, a driver is
forbidden to hold a pet on their lap while driving. The distracted
driving law can be used for people driving with animals on their laps in
Arizona, Maine and Connecticut.
California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island
require dogs to be caged or tethered in a vehicle. New Hampshire
requires it for dogs but ironically people are not required by law to
use seat belts.
The thing to understand here is currently pet safety restraints are
not required by law to be scientifically tested. Doggy seat belts do
prevent driver distraction, so manufacturers who make and sell them are
not actually lying about their product.
It is safer not to
experience distraction while driving. But, it gives pet parents a false
sense of security about their dog if a collision does occur.
What to Do?
In a phone interview with Wolko, she advises anyone with a pet who
drives him or her in their car to carefully research the pet safety
restraint before purchasing it. Yes, a few manufacturers spend the time
and money on scientific research but the vast majority do not. When
asked about laws mandating doggy seat belts, “I question the
appropriateness to mandate the use of a product that has no proven track
record,” she said.
Wolko said the
Center for Pet Safety
will continue to do independently funded crash testing of companion
animal safety devises. The information learned will be shared with
manufacturers and legislators in an attempt to improve pet safety
products to consumers. “We want to help manufacturers make better
products,” said Wolko.
She also told me that the manufacturers she has been in contact with
are open to discussing and learning about test results so they can
design a better engineered product for the market. No doubt this
testing carried out by the Center for Pet Safety will take a long time
to make an impact on future pet safety restraint products and laws.
Nothing changes quickly in the legislative realm.
So what should responsible pet parents do until all this testing is
completed and actually results in changes to manufacturing of pet safety
devices? That’s a question that can only be answered by each
individual using some good, old-fashioned common sense.
Alice in Chains
