Most people know that dogs, whether tethered or not, travelling on the back of utes is illegal but recently the law has been updated to cover the general restraining of dogs travelling in cars.
I checked what specifically needs to be done with the RSPCA to avoid penalty and of course the safety of the dog.
- Firstly, dogs can no longer be transported in the front passenger seat, let alone on your lap whilst driving. If you were to crash the impact of the airbag on your dogs head is so great it would instantly kill her/him.
- Secondly, dogs can only be transported restrained on the back seat or back of the car, not back of utes.
Here are a few ways of restraining your dog effectively and safely – crates, barriers, harnesses and straps that plug directly into your existing seat-belt plug.
Petmates has safe and secure custom designed crates in the rear covered area on my ute. Some clients are too scared to use this facility so are restrained with harnesses and connected to the seat belt plug on the back seat.
FACTS
Each year thousands of animals are injured, die or become needlessly lost in car accidents. Reasons:
- Your dog could distract you and cause an accident.
- If you were involved in an accident, your dog could escape from the car and become lost.
- Unrestrained dogs become flying missiles in car accidents and could be seriously injured or needlessly die if loose in your vehicle, as well as injuring you.
It doesn’t have to be! Please be safe, be aware, be educated; and help educate and bring awareness to others.
Recent Article
http://www.smh.com.au/national/police-get-hot-over-the-collar-20091024-he0j.html