ACtion Magazine - July/August 2014 - (Page 10)

Legal paws By Keith Leonard, Esquire suspect a lot of people will be on the roads this summer. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, in 2012 there were almost 70 million dogs and more than 74 million cats in the United States. Chances are that many of those pets go for a ride in the owner's vehicle more often than their visits to the vet's ofﬁce. According to a 2011 survey done by AAA and Kurgo (maker of animal travel products), 56% of the respondents had, in the prior year, driven with their dog in a vehicle at least once per month, but only 16% had used some form of restraint for the dog in the vehicle. In another AAA survey done in 2010, some 20% of the respondents admitted that their dogs had sat on the driver's lap while driving, and 31% of them also admitted to being distracted by their dog while they were driving. I am sure that many of us have seen a dog with its head outside of the window of a car, seemingly enjoying the fresh air rushing across his/her face as the car rushes down the road. I have also seen dogs riding in the open bed of a pickup truck without any leash or other restraint keeping him/her from jumping out of the truck. There are state laws regulating the seating of a child in a motor vehicle and the installation of child car seats in a vehicle. There are also certainly seat belt laws requiring the driver and some or all of the passengers in a vehicle to be wearing a seat belt. However, there are very I few states that have adopted laws concerning the restraint of pets while riding in a vehicle. While the vast majority of states now have laws making distracted driving a criminal offense, most of those laws relate to bans on cell phone use (except hands " There are very few state laws concerning the restraint of pets while riding in a vehicle. free) and texting while driving. However, some states such as Maine have a distracted-driving law that makes it a trafﬁc offense to be operating a motor vehicle and engaging in an activity that is not necessary to the operation of the vehicle and that impairs the ability of the driver to safely operate the vehicle. Such a law could be used to cite a person driving with a pet on his/her lap for a violation of the law. Hawaii has a speciﬁc law that prohibits a driver of a motor vehicle from having any animal in his/her lap which interferes with the driver's control over the vehicle. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) can cite a person for violating the law if that person is carrying a live animal in a vehicle in an improper manner in that state. So if you are going to take your dog for a ride in a motor vehicle, what vehicles are deemed to be the most canine-friendly? While many vehicles may be selected, the AAA has suggested the following vehicles for driving with a dog: Subaru Forester, Honda Element, BMW 3 Series Touring, Mazda3 (5 door), Kia Soul, Nissan Cube, Volvo XC60, Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota Venza, Mini Clubman, and Ford Escape Hybrid. While the sizes of these vehicles vary, the cars do have similar features such as cargo areas and fold down seats, allowing the driver to transport a pet in his/ her car somewhere other than on his/her lap. Other vehicles identiﬁed as caninefriendly include the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon, GMC Arcadia, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Mazda5 Sport, Dodge Journey AVP, Ford Flex, Kia Sorento, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, Acura RDX, and Inﬁnti EX. Putting aside the trips to the vet, my dogs enjoy riding in the car; even if the cats prefer anywhere else. I must admit that two of them seem to prefer the view from the driver's seat more than any other location in the car. However, since neither of them are licensed to drive, they have to be content to be seated elsewhere. I have also owned a dwarf rabbit which liked the driver's seat and which fortunately did not interfere with my driving and was not a killer rabbit. But you can just imagine the looks from other drivers when they looked over and saw a rabbit looking back at them out of the driver's side window. ❆ Remember that laws are constantly changing and are often not uniform throughout the United States. Do not place unqualiﬁed reliance on the information in this article. Always contact legal counsel for detailed advice. If you have a particular issue, law or problem you would like to see addressed in a future column, please contact me at KLeonard@LeonardSciolla. com, or Leonard, Sciolla, Hutchison, Leonard & Tinari, LLP, 215-567-1530. Reader Reply 10 ACTION * July/August 2014 http://www.dealerautomotive.com http://www.dealerautomotive.com http://www.macsw.org/imis15/MACS/Publications/ACtion_Reader_Reply/MACS/Publications/ACTION/ACtion_Reader_Reply.aspx?hkey=ac24bddb-c045-442a-813c-cbf05f88ac4d

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - July/August 2014

Fire truck A/C
The air we breathe
Outlook
Freeze Frame
Leonard's Law
Virtual View
Service Port
Last Watch
Member Profile
By the Numbers
Cooling Corner
Industry News
Association News
New Products

ACtion Magazine - July/August 2014