Seat belts save lives. That’s why public service campaigns for “Buckle up, It’ the Law” and  “Click it or Ticket” keep reminding motorists to always use seat belts.

These campaigns, coupled with tougher traffic laws and enforcement, have had an impact. The vast majority of adults now make it a habit to buckle their seat belts whenever they are in a car. Moreover, most parents are using car seats for children from newborns to early teens, to make sure they are protected while riding in a car.

Traffic safety statistics and research confirm that seat belts and car seats do protect people from being thrown from the car in an auto accident and keep them from being tossed around inside the car during a crash or a sudden stop.

So what about your dog?  For all the same reasons we need to be safe inside our cars, so do our dogs.  Here are some tips for keeping everyone, including your pet, safe while riding in your car.

• Never let your dog ride in the front seat, no matter how much it enjoys it.  Pets riding in the front seat can be thrown into the windshield if you make a sudden stop or get into an auto accident.
• Secure your pet in the car. Just like a person, an unrestrained pet can interfere with driving and become a hazardous projectile during a crash or sudden stop.  It could hit the windshield, injure a passenger, block the driver’s vision, or fall down by the gas and brake pedals, and cause an accident.

• Crates or sturdy pet carriers are the ideal way to restrain pets in cars. They provide similar protection as a child safety seat does for your kids.  Secure the crate so it does not fly forward or flip over in case of a sudden stop or accident.
• If you can’t fit a crate in your car, the next best thing is a pet harness that buckles into the seat belt and restrains your dog the same way as a seat belt does for you.
• Don’t allow your pet to ride with their head outside the window, because it’s dangerous for the dog and for you.  It can lead to an eye injury or getting hit in the head by a flying object. An open window might even tempt your dog to jump out of the car into oncoming traffic.
• Never let your dog ride in the back of an open truck. This is extremely dangerous practice, which can lead to severe injuries or death. It can also result in an auto accident,  if your dog jumps into traffic.

Overall, the safest way to travel in a moving vehicle is to use some type of safety restraint.  It makes no difference if you are an adult, a child, or a family pet – seat belts do save lives. Whenever you travel with your dog, keep it safe by putting it in the back seat in a secured crate, or in a harness attached to a seat buckle.