WDYT about this: requiring seat belts for dogs?

[womet]

And I just realized that we would have to crate our cat. He loves riding in the car with us when we drive from GA to MD for Christmas. We bring a fuzzy blanket and he makes himself a bed on the lap of whoever isn't driving. He would be miserable in his cat carrier.

[Deleted]

Texting is illegal in most places too, but people still do that. They should work on catching those people before stopping to ticket drivers with dogs in their cars.
Lol-it's also big dog discrimination. The police would be able to see my dogs vs someone's cat or Pom sitting in their lap

[takeonyou]

So, is there a harness so that my dog can sleep on the floor of the car while still restrained?

[takeonyou]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0OmNR4MxEk&feature=player_embedded

Think this would be acceptable?

[hbomdiggity]

This reminds me of a similar bill I "introduced" in MGA or whatever it was called in middle school. Everyone laughed at me.

I do worry about my dog in the backseat, but not enough to harness him in. He loves car rides too much.

[doverbeach]

My dog has a "seatbelt" from here: usak9outfitters.com/CCSS.htm

He's not a huge fan of it, but tolerates it. I like knowing he can't a) jump out of the car, and b) fly around in case of accident. And I HATE dogs in the back of pickups - I know lots of dogs like it/are used to it, but it scares me so badly for them.

That being said, I don't think you can regulate everything. I do not expect every dog owner to be neurotic like me and buy their dog an expensive seatbelt. Unfortunately, I don't think this will be a good law

[Doctorblue]

I like it. My dogs ride in a carrier that I seatbelt in. Unrestrained animals can cause all kinds of problems: be a distraction, become projectiles, get lost once they're out of the car, get hit by other cars, prevent emergency crews from reaching victims in the car.

[Deleted]

Sept 26, 2012 14:06:54 GMT -5 L said:

It would zap one of the biggest joy my dog has which is riding with me (1 mile) to pick up the kids from school with her head out the window. My cat gets the crate even in 2 blocks to the vet because she's freaked out by cars. But crates can fly in an accident so not sure the point. Is this a common cause of accidents or is it for pet safety? I'm not sure I get it. My dog crying in a crate is more distracting to me (the driver) than sitting next to me.

We secure the cat's crate (and anything else that could fly around in an accident). Just because most people don't doesn't mean it's not possible. I know someone who's husband was killed due to a fender bender where the paint cans in the back seat flew up and hit him in the head. It makes you think when that happens.

And the dog's "seat belt" gives her enough room to move around and still stick her nose out. It's not just for an accident either. When we get out at the park she can't race out into the parking lot. She' stays put until I clip on her leash and unclip the seat belt. It's really not a hassle.

[AAM2012]

Anything unsecured in your car can be a danger in an accident. We put the dogs in their crates and then secure the crates. While in a bad accident they probably would be hurt at least they wouldn't be rolling around the car completely.

[heliocentric]

I think it's a good idea to secure your dog, but I'm not sure how I feel about the law.

Having said that, our dog gets out of the harness before we leave the driveway. We are putting it on her correctly and it's the right size. We can't figure out how she does it. She's like Houdini, so we just gave up using it.

[aspentosh]

Sept 26, 2012 13:08:56 GMT -5 donthasslethehoff said:

I think maybe forcing dogs to be in the back seat of the car might be a better idea, but having them secured in a seatbelt is crap. I hate when I see someone driving around with a 20 lb. dog hanging out on their lap. Not safe.

This is more where I stand.

I can't tell you how many times I've been driving around a person has their dog in their lap. That freaks me out, especially when I can't see their face!

[ejpint]

This is ridiculous. If they want to prevent dogs loose in a truck bed, or dogs strapped to the roof of the car, then make the bill about that.

I love my dogs, and mine are almost always in their seatbelt harness when in the car - but sometimes one freaks, and the only thing that keeps him calm on a two hour drive is to ride shotgun on my lap. I'd lose my shit if we got a fine for that.

[countthestars]

You don't even have to seat belt yourself if you are a human over 18 in New Hampshire.

Live free or die.

[Deleted]

I used to use a dog seat belt but my dog would get it twisted around until she was no longer able to sit and had it and the seat belt wrapped around her. It had the potential to cause more harm than good.

As for a dog flying out a window because of a sharp turn, the stupid driver shouldn't have his window rolled down that much.

[MadamePresident]

Sept 27, 2012 8:18:01 GMT -5 heliocentric said:

I think it's a good idea to secure your dog, but I'm not sure how I feel about the law.

Agree.

[Deleted]

Sept 26, 2012 14:32:00 GMT -5 takeonyou said:

So, is there a harness so that my dog can sleep on the floor of the car while still restrained?

Not sure about if there are passengers back there too, but I know my dogs' seatbelts allow them to move around the back of the car, lay on the floor, etc while attached. They *can* even get into the front seat, although they aren't allowed to. The seatbelt mostly would restrain them in the case of a sudden stop/impact, since seatbelts are designed to lock up when that happens. When we're just driving along the seatbelts aren't locked and can stretch.

[M]

I use a seatbelt for Hilo when he rides in the convertible and the windows are down. He loves to stick his head out as much as he can and that includes putting his paws on the door and possibly standing up (I never gave him the chance to do that). So I put a seatbelt on him but its still long enough for him to put his head out the window and be safe.