Last week our post about Road Tripping with Dogs received a few questions regarding our travel crate. Having the proper car restraint for your dog is very important. According to a survey by the American Automobile Association, over 80% of dog owners’ drive with their pets in the car. There are approximately 43.3 million households with pets, so that is an impressive number of people on the road with dogs in their vehicles. However, only 16% of people who drive with their dogs use proper safety restraints. Yet studies have also shown that properly securing your dog improves the chances that all your loved ones will survive a collision.
Did you know if a car crashes at a speed of just 25 mph, an unrestrained dog can be projected forward at a force equal to 40 times its weight? So take me for example, at approximately 75 lbs., I can achieve an impact force of 3,000 pounds in a low speed car crash! That would no doubt prove to be a lethal blow for both me and my parents. And don’t for a moment think that smaller dogs are any safer. A small dog of just 10 lbs., when traveling at 30 miles per hour, can exert 300 pounds of pressure in an accident if left unrestrained.
If your pup is restrained, it will also ensure that the your terrified dog won’t flee from the accident scene and get lost, or obstruct emergency responders working to reach you following an accident. In addition, with your dog safely secured, you can confidently keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel, and not be distracted by your four legged copilot. However, NOT all of the crates, carriers and car harnesses available on the market for pets are crash-tested. So before heading out for a road trip, or even a quick errand, do your homework to find the best crash tested safety option for your dog and vehicle.
Asa and I are lucky. A few years ago Mom and Dad invested in a Variocage for our car. Ok, I admit when we first tried it, I hated it. I could no longer sit in my favorite spot in the backseat behind Dad with my head resting on his shoulder. Nor could I be Mom’s copilot when she inevitably got lost and needed directions. Also after long hikes, Asa couldn’t sprawl out as much as possible when taking a well earned nap. Sure he can still lay down, but he can’t take up the entire back seat anymore. However, for our safety in the event of an accident, it is worth giving up that freedom. No more worrying that I could get tossed around in an accident or lost when fleeing from a crumpled car. Also I admit I rather like our crash-test certified crate now. I can still keep an eye on Mom and Dad, and the divider keeps me nice and clean when Asa occasionally decides to vomit up treasures he ate on our hike. There’s also room for Asa to lay down to take a nap without bothering the rest of us when he tap dances in his sleep.
According to Dad’s research, Variocage uses major car manufacturers’ crumple zone guidelines to develop their crash-test certified dog crate that meets or exceeds safety standards in both front and rear collisions, and vehicle rollovers. It is designed that the telescoping poles and crumple zones take the impact of an accident, so that in the event of a crash it will compress in a controlled manner similar to how cars are designed. This way it will keep me safely contained while also limiting the impact I experience, and prevent the crate from breaking through the back seat, or worst yet breaking apart and injuring me. The crate also comes with a an emergency hatch in the rear to ensure that I can get out if the hatchback of the car can’t open after an accident.
After years of searching for the right crate, what specifically drew Dad’s attention was not only that this company’s crate performed well in crash-tests, it was developed to be “tailor-made” for the owner’s car with it’s adjustable depth and is angled to match the rear seat and hatchback of many car models. This flexibility makes it a perfect fit for Dad’s car, yet it can also be adjusted to Mom’s smaller car as well.
The Variocage does come with one problem though. Although in the reviews people warned that the Variocage is difficult to assemble, no one mentioned that the directions only come in Swedish! Or at least that was the case when we purchased ours in 2017. But a few youtube videos later, Dad successfully assembled it. You can read our review of assembling it in the post “My Prisoner Transport Crate.” Spoiler alert: you can also learn Swedish from Asa in that post!
We can’t emphasize enough though that NOT all of the crates, carriers and car harnesses available on the market for pets are crash-tested. So please do your research to find what works best for your dog and vehicle. To read more about the Variocage, please visit Mimsafe.se. However, it is expensive, and may not be the best option for every dog and vehicle. So don’t just take our word for it, do your homework!
A crash can happen at any time. So whether you’re doing a quick errand or out on a grand adventure, it’s important to keep pups safe. Sadly depending on the vehicle, speed and circumstance, it may be impossible to protect us from injury or death. However, it is important to be prepared for an emergency. When properly sized for the dog and correctly installed in the vehicle, having the right restraint may make a life or death difference.
