Why can't people keep their pets in the back seat to avoid accidents?

Safety, is it just for people? When we get into a vehicle first we buckle up our children then we buckle up ourselves. Why did we just let our pet jump in and remain unsecured? we do not tend to think about the fact that if a person can get injured or killed in a vehicle accident so can our beloved pets. Not only can our pets get killed or injured but they can also kill the other occupants in the vehicle by flying into them with a pretty hard force ( it does not take only an accident but also a sudden stop ). A pet that is roughly 50lbs and going roughly 30mph will hit an object in front of it with approximately 1,500pnds of force. The ratios are different for lighter or heavier pets and different speeds but that should give a more factual idea of what force results from our pets hitting an object in their path of flight. The mental trauma can also be equally as bad for our pets as it is us.

Our pets could also be the cause of a vehicle accident when unsecured. They can distract us from our driving by jumping in front of our view, jumping down where the gas and brake pedals are, trying to get out of a window, and getting into something that we do not want them in. We may feel that our pets would never behave like that ( either because they never have acted like that before or they are supposed to be really well trained ) the real question to ask ourselves is "can we promise ourselves beyond a shadow of a doubt that our pets will not act like animals"? We tend to humanize out pets but the fact is that they are animals.

There are many ways to secure our pets in a vehicle. Crating is one of the best methods ( as long it's secured correctly ) because it also helps protect our pets from loose flying objects. There are harnesses that work with the seat belts to secure them and keep them where they belong and keeps them form flying into an object or person in the case of an accident or sudden stop. There are many types and styles of these harnesses at both pet stores and online. We can get barriers to keep our pets from having free roam in the vehicle which would be better than nothing but but they do not stop the pet from flying into an object. Holding our pets in our arms is not effective at all. If a pet wants out ( of an open window ) they are going to go if they want to badly enough. If we get into an accident our mind and body is going to react to protect itself and not our pet. that means either our pet can slip through our arms and hit what is in front of them or we could actually crush them ourselves. pets do tend to feel more at ease when they are secured properly.

Your pet could also jump or fall out and get hit by a car, bite another person, or run away and never be found again. If your pet is not secure and will not allow paramedics to get to you a police officer will be forced to shoot your pet.

Please, we need to consider our Pet(s) when we take them places in a vehicle. When we brought our pets into our lives we agreed to love them, feed them, and care for them. Protecting them from harm is supposed to be part of our agreement for caring for them.

The financial and emotional cost to find a way to secure your animals will be less than a fine, vet bill, or death for not doing so. yes, there may be some training involved but to see our pets and wallets safe it is worth it.