Puppy Seatbelts

You buckle up whenever you go somewhere... what about your dog?

by Melanie Sadek - AAA Manager of Traffic Safety

Did you know hundreds of dogs are killed in survivable vehicle collisions each year! I emphasize survivable because there are easy steps you can take to protect your dog and increase their survival rate in the event of an crash.

Often times, people open the door, let their dog jump in the car and take off. The dog is allowed to jump around the cargo area, ride in the back seat or lay in the front seat. All of these behaviors put you and your dog at risk. Although we ensure human passengers are buckled up, the idea of restraining your dog is a relatively new concept - one many haven’t even considered.

It’s simply physics…

In the US , most crashes are head-on collisions. In this type of crash, the occupants and items in the car rapidly move towards the point of impact at the same speed the vehicle was travelling. Crash forces are roughly estimated with this equation: weight x speed = force. Plug your average driving speed and your dog’s weight into the equation and you may be surprised. For example my dog weighs 75 pounds. When we take him to the dog park, our average speed is 25 miles per hour. This means if we get into a frontal collision, he would fly towards the front of the vehicle with approximately 1,875 pounds of force! For most restrained passengers this low-speed collision is survivable. However, if your dog isn’t restrained, he will fly through the vehicle until he comes in contact with something that can slow him down or stop him. Unfortunately, this is either a passenger, the dash board or the windshield. It is highly probable that injury or loss of life would be the result to an occupant or your fluffy friend.

How to protect you and your dog…

There are many products on the market to help restrain your dog or separate them from the passenger compartment. The most reliable method, though least popular, is the dog vehicle harness. When purchasing a harness it is crucial to select a harness that is specifically designed for transportation in the vehicle. Vehicle harnesses are made of high strength seat belt material and support the strongest parts of your dog’s body. The harness fits a dog comfortably and allows him limited mobility in the vehicle. They connect to your car in a variety of ways and can be used in the cargo area or the back seat. It is highly recommended that you don’t restrain your dog or allow him to sit unrestrained in the front seat of your vehicle. Front seat passengers (humans and animals alike) are likely to sustain the most injuries in a crash. Plus, the airbag could be deadly for a dog of any size.

There are at least two dog vehicle harnesses that have been crash tested. Although the crash test uses a dog dummy, it doesn’t measure internal injuries or head movement. The tests do prove confinement within the vehicle and “ride down,” which means the harness on the dog absorbs the crash force and slows the dog’s crash impact down.

PetBuckle Travel Harness

Two additional transportation options, though less effective, include the popular pressure mounted screen, which separates the cargo area from the passenger compartment, and traveling crates. If you are considering either of these options, please keep a few things in mind. In a collision, will the pressure mounted screen stay in place with the jolt of extreme force hitting it? Remember, just because it feels secure doesn’t mean it will withstand the crash force of even a minor collision. Plus, although the screen will possibly keep you safe in the passenger compartment, it doesn’t do much for your dog who is still being thrown against the metal screen at incredible force.

If you choose to use a crate, your dog will stay confined but you must restrain the crate to properly protect other vehicle occupants. The weight of your dog, plus the weight of the crate can make for some extreme crash forces. Again, tying down the crate is your best option to protect you and your passengers but your dog is still going to be thrown against the hard plastic or metal crate. In some cases, crates have exploded due to the force the dog exerted on the crate in a crash (yes, a very unpleasant thought).