Pet owners who enjoy driving with their furry companions are taking unnecessary risks that endanger their safety and the safety of their pets. A new study from Volvo Car USA and The Harris Poll revealed that allowing pets to roam unrestrained while driving led to significantly more unsafe driving behaviors, more time distracted and increased stress on both drivers and their four-legged friends.
Volvo and The Harris Poll followed 15 drivers and their dogs for more than 30 hours on the road, to examine how driving with an unrestrained pet affected driving behavior vs. when an owner used restraints (e.g. pet seat belts, harnesses, crates, carriers). When pets were allowed to roam freely inside the cabin unsafe driving behaviors more than doubled. When unrestrained, pets created 649 safety threatening instances. When restrained the instances dropped to 274.
Not surprisingly, unrestrained pets also doubled distraction time for drivers. When driving with restrained pets drivers were distracted for a total of 1 hour and 39 minutes versus a total of 3 hours and 39 minutes of distracted driving time when pets were not restrained. Furthermore, stress levels for both pets and humans decreased when pups were secured with harnesses. Restrained dogs had a measured heart rate 7 beats per minute slower than unrestrained dogs. Human heart rates also slowed by as much as 28 to 34 beats per minute when their doggies were buckled in.
Volvo Cars is the leading vehicle manufacturer to develop safety accessories for pets that directly tie into the safety system of the car. This integration is critical to ensuring all safety features work together to protect all occupants. These accessories include a Dog Harness, Load Compartment Divider, Dog Gate and Protective Steel Grille.
Our Volvo Car Dealership in Houston is pleased to provide vehicles that you and your K9 friend will enjoy, safely. If you have any questions about dog-friendly car accessories or additional findings from the Volvo Car USA and The Harris Poll study please contact us.
Source: Volvo Car USA Newsroom