Canine Crash Test Proves Cars Are Not Dog’s Best Friend
For a new vehicle to come to market in the United States, it must be crashed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to make sure it’s safe enough for people to ride in. Additionally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety will purchase and crash vehicles under an even stricter test regime. All of this is done in the interest of safety for you and your human occupants. But what about your dogs?
Turns out, modern dog safety equipment isn’t really that safe. This video from YouCar shows the Center for Pet Safety’s tests of various harness and crates to see which handle the best in an accident.
As it turns out, it’s not that great.
Using stuffed dogs packed with enough weight to imitate real dogs, the fake dogs were subjected to the Sled Test. This test appears to mimic what would happen if the vehicle was rear-ended on the highway.
Many of the harnesses just flat fail, causing the poor pooch to hit its head on the seat, or fly forward into the front of the vehicle. Based on some of these crashes, I don’t think the dog is any safer in some of these harnesses than with no harness at all.
The idea of a crate makes more sense, but some still do fall apart in impact and the dog flies out.
YouCar notes that it’s important to pick a crate that provides your dog with enough space to be comfortable, but not too big. Also, it’s important to secure that crate to the floor of the vehicle to prevent it from moving around.
How do you secure your pup in your Ford? Let us know in the forums!
