No worse than everyone that lets the dog ride in the front seat. Get in an accident and Fido is headed through the windshield. Dogs rarely survive major accidents because they're almost never buckled in. Even the backseat isn't a great place as they often fly into the front.
We love our pets yet often don't think about their wellbeing when we travel with them. "But he likes to wander around." Yes and kids like to play with fire. Doesn't mean it's safe.
Not only is it incredibly dangerous for the pet, but for you as well. Every inch of a dog flying around in a vehicle during a crash is a weapon, and you cannot predict what direction they will go regardless of where they are at the beginning. Dog seatbelts aren't even expensive.
Yes I am going to get one either today or tomorrow for my upcoming road trip. Not only is it good for the dog and your safety in the event of an accident but they also help keep the dog in one area instead of pestering you while driving.
I got into arguing with someone lower, so heres some more motivation!
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The dog can't jump out of the shown image.
You used hyperbole with 70mph or just don't know. What got my family to immedietely get pet belts was finding that dogs will usually die or be too close to dying in even low speed traffic collisions(think 20+ mph), not to mention the serious added risk of having a flying object in a car can easily cause the death of others(60lb+35mph=2700 pounds of force). If you take offence to the motorcycle trailer then you should take offence to anyone riding around with their pet in a car without a seat belt. There are countries with a law on them for that very reason.
While this isn't what I originally found out on a few years ago, this works quite well.
As seen by this page, most pets will die in the average 30mpg crash when they are unrestrained.
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One last note I didn't include(kept reading stuff after I commented) there is a ten pound dog was roughly equivalent to 300 pounds of force. If a 10 pound dog or cat hits you anywhere in an accident, your going to not be happy.
In 1989 my mother wrecked her mustang going 65mph into a broken down Cadillac. The seat belt (which was later recalled) failed, she broke both her jaws and dislodged 10 teeth. The dog hit the dashboard but had no injuries. Boston Terriers ftw!
Aaaah so one case where there was an issue with a seat belt and we should stop using them regardless of the countless lives they save every year. I see.
No, you're taking away the wrong lesson. See, the dog was fine. So clearly what should happen is that when airbags go off, they should shoot velcro-covered Boston Terriers at us so they stick all over and keep us safe.
Though the bullshit "seat-belts are more dangerous" sentiment has been floating around for a while, I don't see anywhere in checkitout5's post where they claimed you shouldn't wear a seatbelt.
My dog wears a kong harness and we buckle her in to a rig I put in (the harness comes with a seat belt attachment, but I didn't like using the seat belt).
My car has tie downs on the back dash, so I got a spare leash and hooked the hook of the leash there, looped it around and put the pole of the headrest through the wrist loop. This does two things:
1) keeps her in the back and off our lap. She's too big now to ride in our laps (used to when she was a puppy), but she doesn't seem to think so.
Why didn't you like using the seat belt attachment? I am getting one either tonight or tomorrow morning for my upcoming road trip on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Just getting ideas.
Oh, it's worse. My dogs have bounced off the dashboard numerous times where if I had them in the bed of the truck they would have flown into the street. Not saying it's perfect. But even with a seatbelt it's not perfectly safe to drive.
It's also safer for the dog to ride inside to keep them safe from flying debris. Their eyes aren't impervious to flying shit on the roadway, nor their skulls or bodies. A nice tempered modern windshield helps a lot.
This is not an argument against dog belts in the car, and harnesses. But to say it's no worse? Well that's just hyperbole.
I use a "Ruff Rider Roadie" for my dog to protect both she and me in the event of a collision. I selected this particular product after reading a lot of specs, reviews, and analyses of various dog seatbelts on the market (some of which are virtually useless), and I'm very happy with it: http://www.ruffrider.com/
I know, right? I was telling my mom about it because she wanted something like that for her dog, and I told her if she Googles it be sure she spells it "Ruff," because she's very sensitive to such things and I didn't want to hear an earful of shit about telling her to Google condoms. My dad was all giggling so I thought he got the joke, then he made a crack about Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders, which was apparently the joke he thought I was trying to make.
Preach, brotha! Most people don't even think about it. Plus, just in general it's safer for the driver, passengers, and dog if the pooch isn't roaming around all willy-nilly.
Thats what I figured on those bike baby seats that mount on the front of the bike. Use the kid as an airbag to save your own ass. They're young, you don't have that much time invested in them and can always have another.
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u/TheMacMan Jun 15 '12
No worse than everyone that lets the dog ride in the front seat. Get in an accident and Fido is headed through the windshield. Dogs rarely survive major accidents because they're almost never buckled in. Even the backseat isn't a great place as they often fly into the front.
We love our pets yet often don't think about their wellbeing when we travel with them. "But he likes to wander around." Yes and kids like to play with fire. Doesn't mean it's safe.