A considerable number of motorists take their dog or other pet in the car whether that is, for instance, to take it to a country park for a walk, to the vet for treatment or on a family holiday here in the UK. That is perfectly fine as long as it is suitably restrained in the vehicle.
Pets should be restrained in your car.
Unfortunately, if the likes of your dog is not restrained then it could lead to you being fined a considerable sum of money. In fact, you could end up having to pay a fine of as much as £2,500. There are a number of ways of restraining a pet in your car such as a pet carrier or a special seat bell. Some motorists also use a guard.
In addition to a large fine you could also end up with having 9 points added to your driving license meaning that you are not many points away from potentially being banned from driving for a period of time.
It is also worth noting that your car insurance provider may refuse to pay out should you be involved in a road traffic accident when you have a pet in the car that is free to roam about and is not suitably restrained. For instance, if your pet were sitting on your lap then it may distract you from driving resulting in you causing an accident.
A uSwitch survey found some interesting results about motorists taking pets in their cars. For instance, 21% of drivers admitted that their pet had distracted them whilst in the car. It is a concern that 21% of those motorists have either nearly been involved in a road traffic accident or were involved in such an accident. It is interesting to read that 69% of motorists taking part in the survey drove with their pet being present in the car. Alarmingly, 19% of drivers said they did not strap their pet securely in the vehicle.
It will probably not come as a surprise to read that dogs are the pet that is most likely to go in the car with their owner – 70% of those taking part in the survey took their dogs. In second place, at 37% were cats.
So, if you are going to transport your pet in the car, do make sure that it is suitably restrained otherwise there are potential implications including your motor insurance company possibly refusing to pay out.
