How to Keep Your Pets Safe in the Car
Taking our fur babies on adventures with us is an essential part of pet ownership. Fresh air blowing in the windows, exciting quests awaiting, car rides can be the best part of our pets day (or the worst, depending on your pet). However 5.1 million people are injured and more than 44,000 people are killed in vehicle accidents every year. Driving is not a risk-free activity. In our busy lifestyles, cell phones, kids, eating and other distractions are so commonplace they almost seem normal, but these add extra danger to our transportation.
It is essential to keep yourself and your pets safe while driving (or riding in a vehicle), so lets talk about a few ways to make car rides safer and more fun.
Secure your pet the right way. Just as you would not let your child climb around loose in your car, you should not let your pet do so either. Loose pets can be a major distraction, get stuck in a tight spot, obstruct your view, or get tangled with your arms, legs or feet, making it impossible to steer or use the brakes when needed. Additionally, a pet becomes a flying projectile in an accident - a 10lb dog can exert 500lbs of force during a 50mph crash…The best place for small animals (that can fit in a handheld carrier) is in said carrier, on the floor behind the drivers seat. Wedging their crate here will prevent it from flying off a seat, tipping over or otherwise rolling about in the car. If it is too large to fit here, buckle it into a back seat. By securing your pets crate, you keep them safely contained while also making sure if you make a hard stop or have an accident, they remain in a confined space where they cannot fly against the interior of the car. For larger animals, it is ideal to have them in a crash-tested kennel that is secured to the rings of the vehicles cargo system. This may not be possible for everyone as these kennels are large, heavy, bulky and expensive, so the next best is a bar-barrier system that keeps your dog securely in the cargo area of the car. Lastly, if that is also not possible, a pet seatbelt or hammock in the rear row is preferred. Never allow your pet in the front row as the force of the driver or passenger airbag could easily kill them and puts the person needed the airbag at risk of severe injury. Lastly, never allow your pet to be transported in the bed of a truck. They may jump out at any time (“they never have before” is not a valid explanation), it is illegal in most states and your pet is guaranteed to be injured or die in the event of an accident.
Be a safe driver. While this may sound like common sense, there are so many things that can distract us on the road that we don’t need to add another layer of distraction. Put your cell phone away, wear your seatbelt, and obey traffic laws to keep yourself, your passengers and other drivers safe. Use safe following distances and drive appropriately for the weather and road conditions. The very first thing we teach in any of our first aid courses is that we have to keep ourselves safe - if we are hurt in an accident, we cannot be of any use to help our pets. So your safety is always #1!
We hope that you will take some time to assess how you transport your pets in your car and make any safety adjustments as necessary! A few minutes of preparation can save a lot of pain and heartbreak later on. For more information about overall pet safety in cars, check out this great article: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/pets-vehicles