Buckle up Fido: Pets in cars a traffic hazard
16% of drivers distracted by their pets, survey finds

From the TUCSON CITIZEN | By Larry Copenhaver | July 21, 2006

Lucky, a nearly 6-month-old golden retriever, is a constant companion to her pal, 21-year-old Esther Moreno.

When the car goes, so does Lucky.

But auto insurance companies are finding that pet distractions have become nearly as big a traffic hazard as cell phones, which insurers say account for 1 out of every 100 wrecks. In an insurance survey of drivers, about 16 percent of respondents admitted nearly crashing while being distracted by their pets.

In a recent study of driver distraction, the American Automobile Association found that pets and loose objects tied for third on the list of driver distractions, just behind cell phone use and unruly children.

While the number of serious accidents is relatively small, it's an area where preparation could go a long way to eliminating accidents, said Pat Elliott, spokeswoman for Allstate. That's why insurance companies are working to educate the public about pet hazards while driving.

"They roam between the front and back seats, which distracts the driver," Elliott said. "They block the rear window. If a dog sees another dog in a car, they start interacting, and that distracts the drivers in both vehicles."

That's something Lucky has done, Moreno noted. She thinks a restraining device would be good for Lucky.

"I even think a seat-belt law for dogs would be a good idea," said Moreno, who taught Lucky early on to remain calm in the car and stay out of the way.

Two years ago, Santa Fe, N.M., considered extending seat belt laws to dogs. That measure was defeated. In Arizona, there has been no similar legislation suggested.

But seat belts for dogs?

That's something we were just talking about," said Linda Laucus, 45, as she and her two young sons walked their Scottish terrier, Bando, into a PETsMART store to be groomed. "When I told them to buckle up, my son Parker wondered about Bando, but I didn't know pet restraints were available."

Laucus said Bando seldom travels in the car, except to the groomer and veterinarian. "If we go on a trip with Bando, we'll get a restraint. I think that's a real good idea."

Most pet stores carry restraining devices for pet. They consist of a harness worn around the shoulders and chest. The harness clicks onto seat belts. Most restraints cost less than $25.

But not everyone is convinced pets need to be strapped down in a car.

Debra Jurczak, 53, said she has three dogs, a Siberian husky, a husky-chow mix and a chow-chow. None uses a restraint while traveling.

"They just sit in the back seat and look out," Jurczak said. "They love to go riding. They're like my kids. They are my babies."

Over a three-hour period in the PETsMART parking lot, not one animal arrived wearing a restraint. However, one cat arrived cowering beneath the front passenger seat.

The lack of restraints didn't surprise Susan Wilson, executive director of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona. Although Humane Society policy requires pets be placed into a closed carrier or case while being transported, most employees carry their animals without a restraint.

Wilson said the bigger worry is about carrying pets in the back of pickup trucks. At least twice a month, calls come in about animals injured by jumping from the back of a truck - sometimes even though they were tethered to the bed.

Those dogs are dragged on the pavement until the truck can be stopped. Often, other vehicles strike dogs that survive the jump from the truck.

Sales of pet restraints have been rising steadily, said Michelle Friedman, spokeswoman for Phoenix-based PETsMART. Dog booster seats and harness seat belts for bigger dogs, as well as enclosed restraints for cats, are gaining ground.

Getting rid of any distraction would make roads and highways safer, said Sgt. Tim Beam of the Tucson Police Department's Traffic Division. Distractions are the cause of many of the nearly 50 crashes a day in Tucson.

"Driving requires 97 percent of one's concentration," Beam said. Distractions that cause wrecks, and sometimes deaths, include eating or drinking, shaving or putting on makeup, talking on a cell phone, changing CDs, adjusting the radio or dealing with kids, Beam said.

"Remember, if you take your eyes off the road for one second when you are traveling at 40 mph, your car travels 57 feet."

In his 20 years on the force, one distraction Beam has not seen connected to a wreck was a driver paying attention to a pet. And a poll of the department's traffic control supervisors turned up no evidence of pets causing wrecks.

Dawn Barkman, public information officer for the Pima County Sheriff's Department, said she has no recollection of an accident caused by pets. She has been on the force for 11 years.

But Beam conceded that people are distracted by many things, and the elimination of a distraction would be wise.

"My daughter is just learning to drive, and she won't use the radio in the car while she's driving."

The Arizona Republic contributed to this article.