Pet-restraint road laws unleashed
Only a few states so far hop on the animal-safety bandwagon
Not all driving distractions ring or beep. Some of them bark.
And so, animal protection officials nationwide are starting to unleash a new message: Restrain your pet on the road.
“You wouldn’t put your child in the car unrestrained, so you shouldn’t put your pet in the car unrestrained, either,” says Col. Frank Rizzo, superintendent of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA).
In a 2010 survey by the auto club AAA, 20% of participants admitted to letting their dog sit on their lap while driving. A “staggering” 31% said they were distracted by their dog while driving, says Raymond Martinez, New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission chair.
Only a few states have passed laws requiring animal restraints in moving vehicles, AAA says.
-In New Jersey, NJSPCA officers can stop a driver they believe is improperly transporting an animal. Tickets range from $250 to $1,000, and a driver can face a disorderly person’s offense under animal-cruelty laws.
-Hawaii explicitly forbids drivers from holding a pet on their lap.
-In Arizona, Connecticut and Maine, distracted-driving laws can be used in such cases.
-In Rhode Island, Democratic state Rep. Peter Palumbo has proposed legislation to make having a dog in your lap a distracted-driving violation.
“Pet restraint is a somewhat emerging issue,” AAA spokeswoman Heather Hunter says. “While some states do have legislation in place, there is much more to be done.”
Among available restraint options are dog harnesses, which go around the body of the dog and clip into a seat belt buckle, according to the dog safety website canineauto.com. Safety seats and travel crates are other choices. The site emphasizes that pets should not travel in the front seat.
“People take a gamble when they put their animals in the front seat,” says pet owner Kristina Dello of Cherry Hill, N.J.