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14.01.10 # 18:47 # Found on the WWW, Traveling with your dog in NSW # 10 CommentsThe other day we went to our P-E-T store which is always worth a trip! So many toys!!! Squeaky toys, fluffy toys, balls ahhhhh… Ok – back to the topic! 
There my mom saw it. A big sign right next to a point of sale for doggy-seatbelts: 3 Demerit Points + $400 Fine For Unrestrained Dogs In Cars in NSW I dunno much about points and things but my mom nearly went into shock. Sure you can buy lot’s of toys for 400 bucks though! Anyway – before she got into buying a seat belt thingy for me she decided to do some research into what is the best solution for dogs and whether the whole thing was true or just a clever advertising idea from the company…
My hooman couldn’t find the actual wording of the law 
but lot’s of discussions about it.
From what we understand there they are two things you have to pay attention to:
1. No animals are allowed on drivers lap whilst driving
2: No unrestrained animals on the back of vehicles like utes
Road Users Regulations outline driver’s responsibilities to prevent accident or injury (albeit general) e.g. NSW RTA ROAD RULES- “Animals should be seated or housed in appropriate areas. A driver must not drive with an animal in the driver’s lap”.
Now with those 2 rules we totally agree!!! I mean who in their right mind has a dog on his or her lap or running around while driving on the back of a ute?! OK – we have seen both … My mom got stressed when she saw the poster at the pet store because I don’t wear a seat belt but I’m usually sitting in the passengers feet area (is that what it is called!?) because that’s where I can enjoy the aircon the most. Or I’m on the backseat. Generally my mom thinks it is a great idea to make us wearing seat-belts and she regrets that she hasn’t trained me to wear one from the beginning. Maybe it is time to start now… Nevertheless – the poster from the doggie-seat-belt-company seems to be a bit misleading… OR DID WE MISS SOMETHING?!
Here is a nice comon sense article about the topic:
That's when I was little! Wearing a seat belt!
Popularity: 32% [?]
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I do agree with the two rules of not having a dog on the driver’s lap and back of an open vehicle. However, for putting a seat-belt inside the car for dog, well I’m not too sure about that as it’s not an easy thing and it may not fulfill it’s original purpose.
The best safety advise is to drive defensively when one has a dog in the car, i.e. no accelerating and always maintain a distance from the front objects to minimize sudden braking.
Licks, hero
Yeah – I agree. But you never know who might smash into your car from behind…
Those seat-belts especially made for doggies don’t strike me as too bad. Even if I’m not sure if I would like them. Guess it is easier to get a puppy used to it then a, kinda, adult dog like I am or you are… Hmmmmm… Let’s see what my mom decides to do. Not much I have to say in tat matter at the end… Slobbers T.
Oh dear! We do worry about that here as well. I am so huge that there is not much momma can do but put me in the back and hope for the best. Fortunately I am smart enough to enjoy the ride laying down.
Slobbers,
Mango
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We tried putting tucker in a car harness once … he squirmed and squirmed and ended up hanging from it upside-down off the back seat!
Oh I think that sign was a bit of clever scaremongering by the doggie seat belt company, although my humans do agree with the importance of dogs riding safely in cars. But they think it has to be different solution for different types of doggies – for instance, there are just no seat belts big enough for doggies like me & Mango!
Travelling in the footwell at the front is safe enough, I think – no chance of flying foward into the driver or the windscreen! Definitely no dogs bouncing around loose in the back sear or trying to climb in the front and the WORST thing my human thinks is dogs who are allowed to stick their head out windows – it is very dangerous (debris in eyes, jump out, hit by stuff, etc) and so unnecessary because dogs do NOT have to stick their heads out to enjoy the ride (as most people believe) – if you never learn to do it, you never miss it. I enjoy my rides very much and never think of sticking my head out the window.
My humans are also very strict about me always lying down when in the car (lower centre of gravity, more stable, less likely to get thrown around). Usually, I ride in the big boot area of a wagon or SUV although in the last year in Auckland, my humans had to make do with their 2nd small car after they sold our SUV and so I had to learn to ride in the back seat. That was a bit dangerous but it was a temporary thing and my humans always drove very slowly when I was in the car with them. Now we’ve got a wagon again and I can lie down safely in the back again!
Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane
Hi Mango and Honey! I guess even if they would make seat-belts for big doggies it would be rather uncomfortable.
I must admit that I like to stick my head out. Just a bit though and only in slow traffic and when my mom says “Kopf rein” (head in) I get back into the car.
My mom really considers to get a seat belt and give it a go. It depends how they are made and if I can move while I’m secured without ending up like Tucker!
Hi Dennis – we couldn’t help it but laugh!!! Poor Tucker… I guess that was the last time he wore a seatbelt?!
Slobbers Teal’c
Penny has a great seatbelt made by a little company here in Victoria. It is a harness that clips together on her back with a metal clip. Then the harness clips to a small lead that goes around the seatbelt of the car, after the seatbelt is buckled up. this means that the seatbelt can actually do its job of stopping Penny from catapulting forward in a sudden stop. Most dog harnesses just hod the dog in place but don’t actually work as a seatbelt.
Good for you and your Mom. It’s important to keep everybody safe in the car. Even if you didn’t get hurt in an accident, you might escape and be injured by oncoming traffic.
Thanks for stopping by our blog, even if you did read about us being naughty.
The Porties and Tsar and Morgan
Penny always goes in the front seat at the moment, because my car doesn’t have airbags. (My new one will, so she will have to learn to travel in the rear seat – airbags can kill dogs.)
She wears a a harness that clips onto a fastened seatbelt sash. It’s the best I’ve been able to come up with and I like it because it would restrain her like a human in the event of a sudden stop, I think, because the seatbelt is actually clipped into its buckle slot as it would be around a person.