Topic: Would Legislation to Prohibit Pets in Laps be Going Too Far?

[Angry Chicken]

Not on any kind of rant here, but I'm wondering if the time has come for the provinces' to legislate specifically against the practice of having a pet in one's lap while driving.  I know that there are already general rules against things that cause distraction (which the police should apply against themselves too!) but common sense doesn't seem so common anymore.

I know cats aren't dogs, but this one makes interesting reading.  This is from today's Ottawa Citizen:

"Teen in crash likely texting, grabbing cat:
A 17-year-old woman police suspect of texting and trying to corral a cat while driving has been charged after an accident that caused more than $100,000 in dmage this week.  Police in Barrie, Ont. -- about 90 kilometres north of Toronto -- say the young woman was driving at a high rate of speed when she lost control of her vehicle Monday night.  Police said the vehicle hit another car that was parked in a driveway, propelling it into a boat, which was then pushed into a house and neighbour's car."

[Ex-airbalancer]

We have a car seat for our dog to sit in and she stays in it
We still to get her a harness that we can clip to the car seat (in case there is accident) to keep her in the seat

[Angry Chicken]

We have a car seat for our dog to sit in and she stays in it
We still to get her a harness that we can clip to the car seat (in case there is accident) to keep her in the seat

Then you're a good pet owner.  That's an angle that I hadn't considered....what about the poor animal?  If they're not properly restrained they become a victim, too.

[5 Wheel Drive]

I'd hate to think of what would happen to a small dog in someone's lap in a crash where the airbag goes off.  Those things go off with quite a bit of force.  Even though it's only for a split second, I'm not sure a small dog would survive getting squished between and airbag and the driver's chest.

Animals in the car belong in the back seat, or in the back in a hatch/wagon/suv.  A dog won't just sit still.  I think there should be specific wording in the distracted driving laws about about this.  

[quadzilla]

Considering how much people say they love their pets I'm always shocked as to how little care they give them. Things like driving on their lap or just unrestrained in a vehicle to running along side a major road with no leash as I've seen a dog dart into traffic and get hit. People just think, it won't happen to me or should I say Fifi.

This is one thing I really wish police would crack down on. How can they not already be charging these people with some current law.

[whaddaiknow]

We have a car seat for our dog to sit in and she stays in it
We still to get her a harness that we can clip to the car seat (in case there is accident) to keep her in the seat

Then you're a good pet owner.  That's an angle that I hadn't considered....what about the poor animal?  If they're not properly restrained they become a victim, too.

And a lethal projectile, too!

[safristi]

..I like squashed Muffies...taste as good ...and half the price...... ...bagged lunch..........

[KKaWing]

Question is would the law have teeth? Will the cops enforce such laws?

Then on the other hand, do we need to legislate common sense, or provide better training? An example would be the aviation industry. Airplanes are inherently more dangerous. Something goes wrong and you dive thousands of feet into the ground. Yet, being a pilot requires really good training, and licenses are issued in stages, with ratings that could be added on (night, multi-engine, instrument...). While driving may not require such extensive measures, people do need to be taught more than just the "rules of the road" but skill to operate an automobile beyond day to day driving (performance/defensive driving lesson designed to be done within a weekend perhaps?).

Maybe schools need to teach common sense as an official subject 

[dr_spock]

Would SPCA work?

[rrocket]

Who cares about yappy lap dogs?  If the owners don't care about them, then I won't worry about them flying through windshields...

[Dexer]

Legislation would be going to far.

My biggest complaint with government is that they think every good idea should be a law.

Of course people should NOT drive around with pets in their laps. It's a really dumb thing to do.

But we can't just make every good idea a legal requirement and ban every bad idea.

Politicians and people have lost sight of the purpose of the law. The law should provide protection of our right to life and property from criminal interference. Just because something is a good idea shouldn't raise it to the status of a statutory requirement. Tens of thousands of people are killed in this country every year by their own fat. Eating salad would be a good idea that would save thousands of lives...but that doesn't mean we should make it a law. We make people on bikes and motorcycles wear helmets and we could likely save lives of car drivers if we made them wear helmets. That's a good idea. Should it be a law?

People riding around with pets on their laps are idiots but passing laws against idiots is a slippery slope.

I'll say it again: "You can't turn every good idea into a law".

[ArticSteve]

Best idea would be to launch this in AfghCanistan and see how it works out there. 

Furthermore, you just might want to volunteer as project coordinator. 

[5 Wheel Drive]

Who cares about yappy lap dogs?  If the owners don't care about them, then I won't worry about them flying through windshields...

I don't either.  But I don't want to be run off the road because some driver is too distracted trying to keep Fluffy under control when they should be concentrating on driving a car.

[dougjp]

It seems like a logical law to me, irrelevant in practice though. How frequent is this problem? Would the police remember that ticketing these people is YET another thing they have to do? The real practical benefit would be that the politicos could have yet another opportunity to pat themselves on the back and say how they are controlling, even more, every action by what they think is the brain dead populous.

The word "legislation" has become a swear word to me, probably because of living in Nanny McSquity's Province. The sheer number of Rules To Live Every Part Of Your Life are so voluminous, NOBODY can remember them all. Its perhaps the only Province where "Ignorance of the Law" IS a valid excuse!   

[johngenx]

I am frequently cut off by morons with their facking dog in their lap.  Realistically, you can't drive properly and coddle your dog.  I feel like pulling them over, locking their yappy dog in their trunk, tossing their keys down the sewer and then kicking the crap out of them.  Slash their tires for good measure before driving away.  Yesterday this lunatic blew a stop sign, on the phone AND a dog in his lap.  Good thing one of us was actually driving.

$1000 fine and 2 years driving prohibition.  Seize the car too.  Sell it and proceeds to SPCA.


[/rant]

[Angry Chicken]

You've touched a nerve.  I hate small yappy dogs.  Yorkies, chihuahuas.....despise them all.  Proof that Darwin was wrong unless his theory was "survival of the dumbest". No redeeming value to anyone but their owners and all they do is yap, breathe, pant, pee and crap.

[safristi]

LAP DANCING is legal...so I have been told.... ...wot "other" Lap performances should be banned on the Hi AAAAAhhh WAY  ......No i wasn't racing ossifer it woz unintended GRATIFICATION......

[Loudpedal]

Interesting post and topic.  I wonder if insurance policies have any content relating to this, and non-coverage, etc.   

[safristi]

..I can just see the headlines in the SUN..."After extricating the driver from the crash..the verdict was Death by Missyadventure aka screwing the pooch"........