According to AAA, more than 30,000 accidents a year are caused by dogs riding in the front seat of the vehicle. The Travel Industry Association says that 29 million dog owners drive with their dogs but only 20 percent use dog safety restraints. They also state that driving with an unrestrained dog can be as distracting as talking on a cell phone or texting.
- If a dog survives the impact of a crash, he will likely be injured or frightened, and flee the scene, at risk of being struck by another vehicle or becoming lost.
- An unrestrained dog can interfere with driving by crawling on the driver’s lap, falling down by the gas or break pedals, or creating some other distraction that causes an accident.
- If you have an air bag for the passenger seat of your car, the force of impact upon inflation can severely injure or kill your dog.
- A small dog on the lap of a driver in a crash is at risk of being crushed between the air bag and driver.