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I think the real question needs to be, Who Should the Rules Apply To?
Those who treat their pets as animals and interacts with them as animals, and deals with pet issues like animals, they should be allowed to travel with their pets as if they are animals. To this group, NO, the law should not apply to them.
The group that treats their pets as people, interacts with their pets as if they were a person or a child, and whenever an issue arises wants everyone to ralley behind the pet as if it was a child, well YES they need to continue that to how the pet travels.
If you accept that your pet is a animal, it's an animal, its a animal . But if you treat the pet as a child or human don't get all pissy when you get your wish!
I agree.....
When we turn our hunting dogs out there is always a chance of them getting hurt or, killed.
I think it also has to do with driver's and passenger's safety, not just the dog's, even if the dogs are well behaved and always sit in the back. Think about it. An unrestrained dog is just a living projectile if the driver has to suddenly slam on the brakes or gets into an accident. The dog can go flying into the windshield or crash into another passenger. I imagine the damage gets worse if the dog is big.
A person who wore their seat belt and gets into a car crash may still end up having to go to the hospital if 50+ lbs of dog slammed into their head or neck.
So, does that mean that any object needs to be regulated and placed ina safety restraint while in a car? I don;t see an real diffrenece between some pets and some common items like a bag of groceries, or a box of electronic item from a store, or......... The law came about because people have been pressing for greater and tighter laws on animal protections, some to the point on crazy.
All it takes is one animal lover to post pictures of some dog that bloody head is hanging out the front windshield after a crash, or the mangled carcuss of some pooch that fell from the window on the road and got run over by several cars, and they take that image and start calling for the head of the owners who let their pets be unrestrained in the car, and that creates the hysteria that leads to laws like this.
Politicians don;t come up with animal welfare laws on their own, they have to be poked, prodded and slammed by people/citizens/VOTERS to come up with animal welfare protection laws. That means people , usaually animal welfare supporters, had to be behind this law. And, Truthfully, it aint got nothing to do with common sense safety.
I think I like this (personal freedom is great but some laws are necessary) - I'd like it better if it was easier to do (see my thread about arthritic dog and seat belts). I have palpitations when driving behind loose dogs in pickup trucks - out in the wilderness is one thing, but major roads in congested towns is another. Dogs on laps - how do you even drive? I guess none of those people drive stick shift. It seems like a human safety issue as well as pet safety.
I once saw a husky on the roof of a pickup cab as the truck was about to go over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in FL, which is very windy. The dog was actually "restrained" (long chain attached to something I guess) but the dog was standing on the roof! I honked at the guy and yelled at him and he ignored me. Everyone was driving erratically around this truck trying to avoid it while merging to go on the bridge. Totally absurd.
Okay, so people are crying over people safety, not dog safety.......
Since around 1890, manufacturers made automobiles available for public purchase. In 1908 Ford Model T's rolled off assembly lines. Since that time, to the present, how many unrestrained dogs were the CAUSE of accidents? If not the cause, what injuries did they dogs project on people when flying about automobiles during accidents?
Why all of a sudden, is this law?
I agree wholeheartedly, a dog or any other pet on the drivers lap poses serious risk. The police should fine those very people. My dogs ALWAYS ride in the back seat and NEVER attempt to cross over to the front seats. They are NEVER a danger to me when I'm driving and I've been doing for 35 years.
I think it's ridiculous now that people with well trained dogs, will get tickets for their dogs not being seat belted in.
People need to open their eyes and realize this is about money, not safety.
I think the real question needs to be, Who Should the Rules Apply To?
Those who treat their pets as animals and interacts with them as animals, and deals with pet issues like animals, they should be allowed to travel with their pets as if they are animals. To this group, NO, the law should not apply to them.
The group that treats their pets as people, interacts with their pets as if they were a person or a child, and whenever an issue arises wants everyone to ralley behind the pet as if it was a child, well YES they need to continue that to how the pet travels.
If you accept that your pet is a animal, it's an animal, its a animal . But if you treat the pet as a child or human don't get all pissy when you get your wish!
+1
I have giant dogs but they both know that vehicle drive means down time.
In my SUV I have a gate, the boys ride in the back behind the gate. No seat belt.
I do not think it needs to be a law to click it or ticket, for animals. IT IS ALL ABOUT REVENUE!!!
Now, when we are in the car, they are in the back seat. Again, not buckled in...BUT they do not get in our laps. (TOO BIG) They STAY in the back, they are not allowed in the front seat.
I have to agree driving with an animal in your lap is dangerous. I think that is a HUGE safety issue. I would not do it with my dogs, again they are too big. If I had smaller dog(s), I would not allow them in my lap if I were driving, not only for the driving public's safety but for mine and theirs.
If it becomes law, then I will dig out the harness that the seat belt slips through, until then the boys will ride in the back behind the gate, unable to get into my lap, as I drive.
BTW, I love my dogs, they are like my kids but safety is extremely important on the road...after all, I am carrying precious cargo!
"The comments that have been floated around regarding NJ drivers being ticketed for not putting a seat belt on Fido are not true. Nor are the rumors about owners receiving tickets for their dogs hanging their heads out the car window. The key to this law are the words improper transportation, meaning that if a dog were to be traveling in the rear of an open pickup or hanging the majority of its body out a window, then and only then, would a driver receive a summons."
I think dogs/cats on top of toolboxes in pick up truck beds, in pick up beds with the tailgate down or missing, in some open part of a jeep, or riding in the front seat with the driver (whether in the driver's lap or in the seat next to them) or the only ones the law should be concerned about.
That explanation is of the opinion of the President of the NJSPCA. That means absolutely nothing. The words "improper transportation" leaves this law wide open. Some officer may well believe that "improper transportation" is merely an un-seat belted dog or just his head hanging out of the window. The law does not specify what portion(s) of an animal may or may not hang out of a window.
"Improper transportation", what does it mean to YOU, the person transporting the pet? What does it mean to each individual officer? What does it mean to judges?
Still ridiculous.
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. But if you treat the pet as a child or human don't get all pissy when you get your wish! 
I would not do it with my dogs, again they are too big. If I had smaller dog(s), I would not allow them in my lap if I were driving, not only for the driving public's safety but for mine and theirs. 
