HEAD IN, PLEASE

It’s reckless to leave dogs unrestrained in cars

Insurance firm Direct Line would like a ban on dogs sticking their heads out of car windows. The company’s research revealed that 47% of dog-owning drivers allow their pets to do this, with some 28% suffering an injury as a result. These are frightening statistics, but I’m not sure that I believe them: I can’t recall the last time I saw a dog travelling with its head out. Almost all modern cars have air-conditioning, so there’s no need to open the window when moving, while I’ve yet to meet a dog clever enough to open a window unaided.

I remember as a child the family cocker spaniel liked to put his head out of the window, presumably because he relished the rush of smells that assaulted his nostrils as he travelled, as well as the wind in his ears. However, in more than 40 years of dog ownership not one of my dogs has done this — they’ve not had the opportunity. It’s impossible for a dog travelling in the back of an estate car or hatchback to do so, and that’s where my dogs usually travel.

It’s a requirement of the Highway

Code that animals must be suitably restrained when in a vehicle so that they cannot distract or injure the driver, or hurt themselves. The safest place for a dog to travel is undoubtedly in a cage in the rear of the vehicle, while the worst place an unrestrained dog can travel is on the back seat of a car, as the risk of it being catapulted forward under emergency braking is considerable.

I’ve never tolerated muddy dogs on car seats. My dogs have always been trained to travel in the passenger footwell of saloon or sports cars, which they do quite happily, though they are seldom asked to do so.

In theory, the police already have the power to give a driver a fixed penalty notice if an unrestrained dog is deemed to be a distraction that could lead to careless driving, and a dog with its head out of the window is certainly distracting. It’s also rather stupid, a reminder that many dogs could do with better trained owners.

Unrestrained dogs are likely to suffer injury