As many people finalize holiday travel plans that include their pets, a new "whitepaper" report from IsMyPetSafe.com warns of the dangers posed by driving with unrestrained pets in the car – to both pets and people.
"Driving with an unrestrained pet in the car is not only distracting, but a serious safety concern for both passengers and pets," said Michael Miskulin, editor at IsMyPetSafe.com. "A 65lb dog traveling close to 35 MPH can become a deadly projectile having a kinetic energy equivalent to a 750 lbs. weight falling on your foot from a height of 3.5 feet. If a pet strikes an occupant during a crash the results could be devastating."
The whitepapers also exposes serious design errors in highly publicized crash-testing results from the Virginia-based Center for Pet Safety (CPS) sponsored by automaker Subaru. According to Miskulin, the design flaws render the Subaru-CPS test results unusable and the recommendations should not be trusted by consumers.
"While the number one concern is still the need for all pets to be in auto crash-tested crates or harness restraints, it's very disturbing that the only easy-to-find crash-testing information for consumers floating around the Internet and on television is linked to recommendations that are unreliable and potentially dangerous," said Miskulin.
Miskulin hopes his whitepaper can bridge the gap by offering consumers the information they need to find safe pet travel products until more rigorous and reliable crash-test data can be made available to consumers.
"I intend to continue to follow this issue on IsMyPetSafe.com as well as alert pet parents to a number of other important safety issues so they can better protect their pets from dangerous products, practices and health risks," said Miskulin.
