Dogs can be great travel buddies, happily skipping boarding or pet sitters to join in on family vacations and road trips. Even dogs that prefer to sit out long-haul drives often enjoy quick jaunts around town, like trips to the park or puppy playdates at a friend’s house.
But while it can be fun to ride in the car with an excited pup, it’s important to do so safely. Dogs are often major distractions for their devoted drivers, resettling, nudging closer to the front, or even interfering with steering or braking.
If you’re driving with a dog, it’s important to know what steps to take that will help keep you, your passengers and your four-legged friend safe, as well as what to do if your dog is with you when you’re in an auto accident.
How can I keep my dog safe during car travel to prevent accidents?
Getting proactive about pet safety on the road can help prevent distraction-related accidents, minimizing your dog’s chances of interfering with your focus or the mechanics of driving.
Aside from being a potential factor in accidents, an unrestrained dog may:
- Become frightened after a crash and run away, adding stress to an already challenging situation, especially if you’re far from home
- Run into traffic and get hit, or cause additional accidents as drivers attempt to avoid your pet
- Become aggressive with you, witnesses or emergency responders due to fear or the pet’s injuries from the crash
Pet restraint systems can help avoid or mitigate tragedies by keeping animals secure inside the vehicle, even after a major impact. No one wants to imagine their dog hurt in a car accident, but without proper restraints, big dogs or small dogs can become projectiles, getting seriously hurt or even killed when they’re ejected from the car, or harming the driver or passengers inside the vehicle.
The Center for Pet Safety examines different products on the market, weeding out harnesses that come apart during crashes and crates that crumple under pressure. Heavy-duty travel harnesses that connect to the seat belt are solid options for many dogs. Crash-tested travel crates and carriers are also easy choices for many pet owners, especially for those whose dogs are already comfortable with crates.
What should I do if my pet is in a car accident?
Proper pet safety restraints can go a long way toward minimizing the chances of a distraction-related accident. If you are involved in a crash, safety restraints will also help keep your pet and your passengers safer. But aside from researching and choosing a system that works for you, your pet and your vehicle, you’ll also want to be sure to:
- Microchip your pet and maintain up-to-date contact information if you’re separated in a crash or need emergency medical attention yourself
- Keep your pet current on vaccinations and registration, depending on your Georgia county’s laws
- Keep your pet’s collar and tags on to make identification easier, as well as facilitate emergency treatment
- Keep a leash easily accessible within the vehicle
Being involved in a car accident while a pet is onboard adds an additional complication to any crash. It can be hard to focus on getting help, handling your own medical needs and caring for your frightened or injured animal. However, the steps you’ll follow after a crash with a dog in the car are similar to those you’d take after any vehicle accident. You’ll want to:
- Call 911. After any crash, your first step is to call 911. If you’re able to do so safely, move your car out of the flow of traffic and turn on your hazards. As you wait for emergency responders, be sure your pet is secure and will not dart into traffic, especially if you leave the vehicle. Be aware that even the gentlest animal may be aggressive when scared or hurt, so move cautiously as you attempt to comfort and contain your pet.
- Get the medical attention you need. If you or your loved ones are hurt in the crash, accept emergency medical attention. It can be hard to part with your pet, but if you’ve kept your dog’s registration information up to date, authorities will have the information they need to identify your pet even if you’re unable to help. Police may reach out to your emergency contact to have someone pick up the pet from the scene.
- Call a friend or family member. Even if your injuries don’t require emergency attention, it’s still a good idea to have a friend or family member get your furry friend to a safer, quieter environment and away from the accident scene. If your pet needs urgent care, your friend or family member will be able to take them to an emergency vet.
- Exchange information with the other driver. Exchange information with the other parties involved, sharing name, address, insurance information, license and registration. Answer the responding officer’s questions and find out how you’ll get a copy of the accident report.
- Document the scene. If you’re able to do so safely, take photos of the scene, your vehicle and any factors that may have contributed to the crash.
- Follow up with medical and veterinary care. If you didn’t need attention at the crash scene, be sure to call your doctor as soon as possible after you’re home. Sometimes, injuries aren’t immediately apparent, and it’s important to get the help you need and create a record of what happened. Your pet should also see the vet for an examination as not all injuries are obvious.
Can I file a claim for my dog’s injuries after a car accident?
If your dog is hurt in a car accident, it can be stressful, emotionally trying and expensive to pursue the care your pet needs. You may face steep emergency vet bills, difficult decisions on how you will move forward with care and challenges caring for your injured animal while you’re hurt yourself.
Emergency vet care might involve imaging, IV pain medication, stitches, surgery or antibiotics. In especially challenging situations, the emergency vet may even recommend euthanasia for an animal who is too seriously injured to treat humanely.
Some pet owners choose to carry pet insurance to cover the often steep costs of emergency care. But because pet insurance itself can be expensive and isn’t always cost-effective for every animal, some pet owners limit their plans to accident-only pet insurance. Accident-only pet insurance doesn’t cover preventative care, illnesses or hereditary conditions, but it does cover costs associated with accidents like bites, broken bones and car crash injuries.
From a legal perspective, your injured pet doesn’t fall into the same category as an injured human passenger and will be considered differently than a human regarding your regular insurance policy. Your insurance company will consider your pet to be property. However, while this classification may feel overly rigid for loving cat and dog owners, it still leaves open the potential for claims related to vet care and surgery. If you and your pet were hurt by another driver’s negligence, you’ll want to find a car accident attorney with experience representing complex cases, including those involving injured animals.
At Litner + Deganian, we wear our hearts on our sleeves when it comes to pets (literally with Arman, who sports a tattoo of his beloved cat). We’re a longtime supporter of LifeLine Animal Project, where we pay one pet’s adoption fee for every case we close (more than 1,000 so far). We also understand that pets are much more than property, and that claims are about more than covering vet bills. Seeing your pet hurt and suffering is traumatic. Having to make challenging decisions about a beloved member of your family after a crash takes a tremendous mental toll. We offer compassionate legal support, balancing our deep understanding of personal injury law in Georgia with a deep love for our pets and for the animals in our community.
Atlanta Personal Injury Attorneys
If you’re involved in a car accident with your dog, you need help navigating a complex claims process that accounts for your recovery and the challenge and trauma of seeing your pet hurt. At Litner + Deganian, we have experience handling cases involving injured pets, and we deliver plenty of compassion and care as animal lovers ourselves. If you need additional assistance or have questions about your case, set up a free consultation with our team.
