Beast? Dogs away more than half of drivers, says survey

Kevin Lyons

Who knew in a car with your dog can be dangerous?

More than half of the people who drive with their dogs are distracting behavior, a new survey by AAA and Kurgo, which makes products for pet travel. The behavior includes petting a dog, with a hand or arm to prevent a dog from climbing on the front seat, then the car moves, using a hand or arm to keep a dog in place while applying the brakes or even take a picture of a dog, while the car is in motion.

Pilots with many distractions at the wheel dog owners, especially if a dog is not selected.

Tending to a frantic dog often led to automobile accidents. For the road for as little that two seconds double your risk of being in a car accident, according to the foundation of the AAA for traffic and security. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 20 percent of injury accidents in 2009 resulted from the distracted driving.

Despite this, only 16% of surveyed drivers use a pet restraint system.

The survey was conducted online and sampled 1,000 dog owners leading with a dog in the past 12 months. The Americans hold about 78 million dogs.

"Drivers must use a restraint system for pet your dog every time their pet is in the vehicle," Jennifer Huebner-Davidson, AAA traffic safety program manager, said in a statement.

Two of the five people who say they use a pet restraint system thought that they had to because their dogs are quiet. About 10 percent of respondents said that they did not prevent a dog while driving because they wanted to leave the stick for pets, his head through the window.

However, as noted by the AAA, a calm dog will be thrown with the same amount of force in a car accident as a not-so-calm dog.

"Deference... will not only limit distractions, but also protect you, your pet and other passengers in the event of an accident or a stop suddenly,"Huebner-Davidson says.""

Another worrying stat: sept 10 respondents who drive with a dog and children less than 13 years in the same vehicle say they drive while the pooch is unlimited.

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