Advocates Seek to Protect Passenger Pets

Many people like to cart their pets around with them wherever they go. While it's great to give pets the love and attention that they need, the car isn't the best place to do this. In fact, CBS says that pets are just as distracting as eating or fiddling with the radio while you are driving. This is especially true if you let your pets travel in your vehicle without any sort of safety restraint. One man from the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says that you wouldn't drive in a car with your child unrestrained, so why should you drive with a loose cat or dog. In a 2010 survey by AAA, 20 percent of participants admitted that they let their dogs sit on their laps while driving. 31 percent said that they got very distracted by dogs while they were driving. Not only are loose animals a legitimate distraction when driving, but they are in grave danger should an accident occur.

Even if you are a safe driver, you can't control others out on the road. An intoxicated driver or another person who is not watching might collide into you, harming your unrestrained pet. Only a few states have passed legislation that requires animals to wear restraints when in cars. In New Jersey, a police officer can stop a driver that is improperly transporting an animal and fine them between $250 and $1,000 per offense. Hawaii also forbids animals to ride on their owner's laps in the car, and in Arizona, Connecticut and Maine, distracted driving laws include punishment for people who are distracted by their animals. If your animal is injured in a car accident, then you need to get him or her to a vet immediately. Locate a veterinarian right now, so that you are prepared for any emergency that comes your way.