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sharing driver’s seat with dog illegal
state rep. latanya garrett, d-detroit, has proposed a bill that would ban dogs from drivers’ laps. her law would fine drivers caught with a dog in their laps $100 for the first offense and $200 for subsequent offenses.
it is such an obvious and necessary prohibition, it is already part of michigan law. if approved, garrett’s bill would appear to lessen the penalties for pet owners who put their animals at unnecessary risk.
section 750.50 of the michigan penal code, otherwise known as the state’s animal welfare law, mandates that animals transported in vehicles be kept safe. no person, the law says, may “carry or cause to be carried a live animal in or upon a vehicle or otherwise without providing a secure space, rack, car, crate, or cage, in which livestock may stand, and in which all other animals may stand, turn around, and lie down during transportation …”
or, as every veterinarian, highway safety authority and animal activist advises, don’t drive with your dog unless it is restrained in a kennel, by a harness or tether, or behind a barrier.
the reason those provisions are part of the state’s animal welfare statute should be obvious. an animal that is properly restrained is also protected in case of a crash or even a sudden maneuver. a loose dog can be injured in an emergency stop or sudden swerve to avoid an obstacle the same as an unrestrained child or other passenger. as garrett correctly points out, it would be dangerous to a child to ride in someone’s lap, so why would anyone put a dog at similar risk?
violating the animal welfare law is punishable with a fine up to $1,000 for the first offense and up to 93 days behind bars. cruelty that results in the death of an animal — a very real possibility in a car crash — can get the perpetrator a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
but driving with a dog in the driver’s lap also seems to violate michigan’s distracted driving laws. the law does not only ban texting while driving — and for good reason. of the 7,516 distracted driving crashes in the state in 2015, only 753 were linked to cell phones and texting, according to the michigan state police. texting is very dangerous, but hundreds of people were injured and 25 were killed in crashes caused by drivers eating and drinking, tinkering with navigation systems, grooming, adjusting radios and attending to passengers.
when dogs are passengers, drivers must take steps to minimize any distraction they might cause. that begins with removing them from laps and isn’t completed until the animal is properly restrained and protected with a crate, harness or tether — out of the front seat.
michigan state police warn officers will write distracted driving tickets when accidents are caused by unrestrained pets.
for your sake and your pet’s sake, get it off your lap.
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In that passage, there are forty-four occurrences of the letter "w."
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