Rule 57 of the Highway Code in the UK states the following:
When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.
Rule 57 of the UK Highway Code
Beaches of the Highway Code can lead to a fine. News media claims that at worst, a pet owner in breach of rule 57 risks a massive £5000 fine plus points on their licence.
It sounds very onerous. We have seen dogs with their heads out of windows. That would be a breach of rule 57. But on a simple interpretation of the rule, simply having your dog or cat running around the interior of a car whilst travelling would be in breach of this rule.
The reason for it is that it’s distracting. And if you have to stop quickly a dog or cat might become a flying object which could harm people and certainly harm the companion animals.
The UK government recommends, as you can see above, a seatbelt harness, pet carrier or dog cage. An alternative is to put the dog in the back of the vehicle with a dog guard which attaches to the head rests on the back seats and which prevents the dog coming forward onto the seats.
It perhaps goes without saying that if you intend to travel with your dog or cat a lot during the relationship, it’s best to acclimatise the companion animal to travelling in a car by starting from a young age which will allow them to be more relaxed and comfortable during car trips.
The PDSA (a well-known animal Hospital) said:
Introduce them to the car as early as you can as part of their socialisation. Start out by introducing them to the parked car and get them used to sitting in it with you, and then begin making short trips.
PDSA
Personal experience
Many years ago, I can remember travelling with my two cats from London to the west coast of Ireland. We took our cats in the car and they were allowed to roam freely around the cabin inside the car while we drove from London to the west coast of the country to catch a ferry to Ireland. Complete breach of rule 57 of the Highway Code of which I was entirely unaware at the time. In fact, my darling female cat spent a lot of the journey on the dashboard looking out the front window! The boy spent most of his time at the back with the luggage.
And we smuggled both cats onto the ferry. We took an overnight cabin in which they were allowed to roam around freely. It all worked out very well. We didn’t want to leave them back in London at a boarding cattery.
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