blog home Car Safety How can I keep my pets (and my people) safer on the road?

How can I keep my pets (and my people) safer on the road?

By Ken Gibson on July 15, 2016

In the United States, we have laws to protect children traveling in cars. However, most states have few or no laws requiring owners to secure their pets in moving vehicles. That’s a problem for pets and people:

  1. When an accident, swerve, or slamming of brakes happens, unsecured pets can become projectiles. As a result, the pets and their people can be seriously injured or killed.
  2. Unrestrained dogs riding in the bed of a pickup truck can be thrown out of the vehicle, or even crushed in a rollover.
  3. A dog hanging its head out the window can be struck by a flying object, jump out of the window, hit its head when you hit a bump, or even choke if it accidentally hits the button that raises the window.
  4. Pets cause driver distraction in many other ways, which puts them and their people at risk.

Here are three ways to keep your pets – and your people – safer when you’re driving:

  1. Put your pet in a pet carrier or crate in the back seat of your vehicle. Make sure the carrier is secured, so it doesn’t become an even bigger missile.
  2. Or use a harness — again, in the back seat. A harness is like a seat belt for pets. It wraps around the pet’s chest and shoulders and can clip into your car’s seat belt system.
  3. Never allow your pet to ride in the bed of a pickup truck. The American Humane Association estimates that more than 100,000 dogs die each year in incidents involving truck beds – from being ejected, jumping out, sliding off an open tailgate, or being in a rollover.

If you have questions about keeping your pets or your people safer in vehicles, don’t hesitate to call GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys at (804) 413-6777. We are glad to help.

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Prevention, empathy, and diligence are hallmarks of everything we do at GibsonSingleton Virginia Injury Attorneys. Our community can see these ideals lived out in our work to prevent personal injuries from happening.

  • Safety Education
    GibsonSingleton launches a “Texts=Wrecks” campaign to reduce the number of people injured or killed by distracted drivers.
  • Annual Coat Drive
    During the fall, our team works to distribute coats to people in need in our community.
  • Hands-on Service
    John and Ken join the Gloucester Point Rotary Club in cleaning up the community.
  • Supporting Local Schools
    The Gibson family participates in Gloucester’s Botetourt Elementary Shuffle fundraiser.