Willowlane Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Can dogs legally ride in the front passenger seat of a car if harnessed in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I think that would depend on state laws? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowlane Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Does anyone know the law for NSW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Be aware that if you have front passenger air bags, the same rules of thumb apply as for people .. i.e. there is a minimum safe weight limit for the 'passenger' .. so you need to check with your car's manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I thought it was NO...the same as a small child & it has to do with what happens if the airbags are activated. I am not real sure about the legalities of a dog though, just common sense, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowlane Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 I saw a lady with 2 medium sized dogs in there today, she swore it was legal, I couldn't believe it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I saw a lady with 2 medium sized dogs in there today, she swore it was legal, I couldn't believe it! Stupid...not only putting the dogs in danger if the air bags go off....but highly distractive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I am not sure either if it is illegal but in a previous career I had to help an investigator for fatal road accidents on major roads here in QLD (before air bags were common). Seat belts are designed for humans so that in the event of an accident, if the human is upright in their seat and the seat belt is being worn correctly they wont become projectiles and go through the windscreen. Dogs are generally clipped into the seat belt connection, not the seat belt itself and in the case of an accident this would not stop them becoming air borne, either smashing into the dash, windscreen, the driver or having their necks snapped once that strap pulls taut at high speed. And if they survive all that then the air bags would probably crush them in to the back of the seat. Yes there is a risk in the passenger seat and also in boot areas of something similar happening but force is likely to send the dog forward first and at least in those other areas the seat backs will slow the dog down and possibly do less damage. I've also seen a dog badly injured from sitting on the front passengers lap and being thrown and trapped under the dash in a side collision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VizslaMomma Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Can dogs legally ride in the front passenger seat of a car if harnessed in? Maybe read this site. It does offer the different State sites to follow up. We were always told not to allow dog in the front if there are air bag in NSW. http://www.dogculture.com.au/content/11-car-travel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canisbellum Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The passenger airbag can be deactivated on all modern cars, due to the danger to children. Refer to your owners handbook. I would not connect a collar to a restraint but use a harness which are readily available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowlane Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 I would never travel a dog in the front seat period. Projectile is all i can think whether the air bags are activated or not. I will admit I dont have the best set up for car travel but I do the best I can. The new puppy is in a wire crate and my cocker spaniel is in a harness strapped in on a dog bed behind the drivers seat. Unfortunately I cant fit 2 crates inside my car as I only have an Accord. I just dont get how people can endanger their supposedly 'most loved and precious' family members? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeckoTree Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) I know you're discussing NSW, but for interest sake Qld has no ' legal' requirement for a dog to be restrained inside a car,as far as i am aware, just a recommendation, on a ute yes a legal requirement to secure your ' load', but not in a cab. In Car it's just not on your lap if driving, or let it have it's head out the window and tongue flapping around as it's interfering .... With safe driving.. qld is a cracked egg lol. Edited May 20, 2015 by DuffyDack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambi & Me Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I'm interested too because I bought a dog car seat and it claims it can be secured to the front seat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Search this forum it has been discussed at length before. It is only illegal to drive with them in your lap. It is not illegal for them to be unrestrained in the front passenger seat or elsewhere in the car. It is illegal to not have proper control of your car at all times. If you have a dog in the front seat unrestrained then there is a risk that police could fine you for not having proper control (ie distraction factor). It would be damn hard for them to impose the same fine for a dog in the rear of the vehicle, especially one that is not leaping about etc distracting you. This is national road rules so the same everywhere. It is illegal to have them unrestrained on the back of a ute. Main reason to restrain them is their own safety - so they don't become a projectile in an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 What Danois said... I think it's legal to have dogs anywhere in the car except your lap - as long as they don't distract you. You can't have them in your lap or unsecured in the back of an open top ute. Anything in the back of a ute must be secured so it doesn't fly off if the ute comes to a sudden stop (accident). This is "Australian Road Rules" but there might be slight variation state to state. What a cop will do is claim your dog in your front seat is distracting you. Especially if - as soon as you wind the window down to talk to the cop - your dog runs into your lap to yell at the cop. If your dog is lying down across the back seat with a harness on and never moves - there's a chance the cop won't even notice you have a dog (my dog was not very protective in that situation - unlike another dog I used to drive round - I had to tie him up before I could wind the window down even tho he was on the back seat). Got no air bags in my car. I think there is a rule in SA at least that children must be 12 or over to travel in the front seat. Not sure if it applies if there is no back seat. When you come to a sudden stop - anything unsecured inside the car will fly forward - things behind you are more likely to hit you on the way through the windscreen than things next to you (side collisions excepted). And another annoying Australian road rule - you can't have a dog (or a horse or other animal) attached by a lead to the vehicle or a lead held by anyone in a vehicle (including on a bicycle) on any "road related area" which includes roads, footpaths and council bike paths. Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The passenger airbag can be deactivated on all modern cars, due to the danger to children. Refer to your owners handbook. I would not connect a collar to a restraint but use a harness which are readily available I agree cane toad - I'd never attach a dog to a tether in a car by its collar. In a sudden stop the force on the dogs neck is likely to cause damage IMO. A harness is the only way to restrain safely in a car IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverStar-Aura Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 From my memory of the rules the phrase 'distracting the driver' stuck out. Technically the dog can do whatever as long as it's not distracting -- which opens a can of worms because what might not be distracting you, the police may deem distracting. Zeus loves the front seat so I tether him in the back now so he can't jump over. Kirah loves the back parcel shelf so I tried tying her but she was still able to back up the seat onto the shelf. She now travels in her crate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) With small breeds (and not for long trips) I will sometimes clip the seatbelt around a sturdy small wire crate in the front passenger seat, especially if I am on my own and need to keep an eye on the dog (or cat) - for example if racing to emergency vet. The crate will protect them from the airbag. I wouldn't use a dog car seat in the front passenger seat though! Edited to add a pic but I can't find it sorry Found it!! Edited May 23, 2015 by RuralPug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 What Danois said... I think it's legal to have dogs anywhere in the car except your lap - as long as they don't distract you. You can't have them in your lap or unsecured in the back of an open top ute. Anything in the back of a ute must be secured so it doesn't fly off if the ute comes to a sudden stop (accident). This is "Australian Road Rules" but there might be slight variation state to state. What a cop will do is claim your dog in your front seat is distracting you. Especially if - as soon as you wind the window down to talk to the cop - your dog runs into your lap to yell at the cop. If your dog is lying down across the back seat with a harness on and never moves - there's a chance the cop won't even notice you have a dog (my dog was not very protective in that situation - unlike another dog I used to drive round - I had to tie him up before I could wind the window down even tho he was on the back seat). Got no air bags in my car. I think there is a rule in SA at least that children must be 12 or over to travel in the front seat. Not sure if it applies if there is no back seat. When you come to a sudden stop - anything unsecured inside the car will fly forward - things behind you are more likely to hit you on the way through the windscreen than things next to you (side collisions excepted). And another annoying Australian road rule - you can't have a dog (or a horse or other animal) attached by a lead to the vehicle or a lead held by anyone in a vehicle (including on a bicycle) on any "road related area" which includes roads, footpaths and council bike paths. Sigh. I've done this though. I led my mare from my car in the middle of the night at the time of the Black Saturday bushfires. I had her walking on the passenger side of the car with the lead rope coming through the passenger side window and I held it while I drove along at about 5 ks an hour. She loved it and was very well behaved. After a while 2 girls in a car came and offered me help and one rode her bareback the rest of the way tothe park. No coppers around but I suspect if they had turned up while I was doing it they would have helped me not booked me at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I had her walking on the passenger side of the car with the lead rope coming through the passenger side window and I held it while I drove along at about 5 ks an hour. Maybe the cops would have been fine with it. Unless they were the ones that had cleaned up a mess caused by someone else doing it and it going wrong. It was a routine thing amoung racehorse trainers... to exercise their horses on public roads. And I think there might have been a couple of bad accidents because of it. I know there have been quite a few bike+dog horror crashes where the dog has crossed the path of the bicycle and wiped everybody out or run into traffic and pulled the cyclist with them. The rule has the feel of coppers who have seen it go wrong saying - this should be illegal. The endurance club in SA routinely uses bikes and leads to train endurance with their dogs... So generally the cops don't bother with enforcing it. They've probably got more important / urgent things to do like chase ice cooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now