Protecting Fido
On the same day I wrote my post on the dangers of riding in pickup truck beds, I was driving near my home in Petersburg, Virginia when I saw something else that disturbed me: a beautiful chocolate lab sitting proudly, nose into the wind, in the bed of a pickup that was hauling a camouflaged boat. The lab and his owner must have gone hunting earlier that morning.
As a personal injury attorney in Southside, Virginia, I spend most of my time worried about human clients who have been injured in car and truck accidents, not dogs. However, riding in the back of a pickup is just as dangerous for a dog as it is for a person – and it’s dangerous for passersby as well.
Estimates indicate that about 100,000 dogs riding in truck beds die every year in accidents. Sometimes a dog simply jumps out of the bed of a moving pickup. Occasionally he falls out. More often a dog, sitting or lying unrestrained, is ejected from a truck bed during a motor vehicle collision. In most of these cases where the truck is moving, someone’s beloved pet is injured or killed. He may be run over by a passing vehicle.
The most obvious solution to this hazard is to ensure your dog rides up front with you, restrained in a harness. Placing your animal in a cage or travel carrier secured to the truck bed may be an option. Tethering may also prevent a dog from voluntarily jumping out of a truck.
However, the cage and tether present risks of their own. A cage may not be much protection when a pickup flips over. In addition, a dog may strangle or be dragged along the roadway if caught the wrong way in a tether or leash during an accident.
There is something else that concerns me as a personal injury lawyer who represents people injured or killed in car and truck accidents. Transporting a dog in the open bed of a truck endangers other motorists. When a dog is ejected or jumps out of a truck, another motorist may have to swerve to miss the animal and in the process strike a third vehicle or travel off the road and crash into a tree. Serious injury or death may result.
So be fair to your dog and other motorists. Don’t drive with your dog in the back of your pickup truck. Keep your pet up front with you.
Labels: Motor Vehicle Accidents