Dogs in Cars

[jules77]

I have been made aware of a dog owner who has been pulled up by the police for having her dogs on the back seat of her car. They were sitting quietly, and the owners were initially penalised with 6 points on their licence and a fine of �60 for each dog. The police have now agreed to waive the points, but the fine must stand. The owner has called other police stations, and most state that "it is not an offence to have dogs unharnessed on the rear seat" "But if they are causing a distraction to the driver this could create an offence and the need to be pulled over". The question over whether or not the owner should have been fine and penalised in this instance is apparently dependant on the officer at the time..........As there appears to be no consisency and the law seems very 'woolly' I wonder if anyone else knows the law in this case, as I have searched everywhere and cant find the definitive answer?

[Rosetta]

Perhaps police time would be better spent catching all the thugs that are on our streets.

[jules77]

My feelings exactly, but I have now sorted out my doggie seat belts, benching chains, and found where all the D rings in the rear of the car are situated, just in case!!

[Rosetta]

I understand if the dogs are jumping about all over the place and distracting the driver but I have not heard of this before and like you would query what law it breaks. Worth challenging maybe.

[jules77]

The owner did challenge, hence why the points were waived, but she still had to pay the fine. Personally I wouldnt have paid it without proof of the law. She has called round all the police stations in the area, who all say different and say it is dependant on the officer at the time!! The officer in this case was young, and probably needed to complete his target for the day! My husband thinks he heard something about a law coming in some time ago, but I havnt seen anything in the dog press, and cant find anything about this law coming into force.

[fredpuli47]

Surely the police can't issue a penalty notice which doesn't state what offence has allegedly been committed.That being so, the person named can find the Act, the section of it and any Regulation which creates the offence.When there was a rumour of such an offence last year I did hunt through Wilkinson's Road Traffic, Stone's Justices Manual and other books and could find no such specific offence of failing to secure a dog .There may be one now, but from what the police at the various police stations said [above], it looks as though the offence was one of failing to keep proper control of a vehicle. That must be question of fact and degree. Hence the question of the officer's opinion, for one might view the same evidence differently from another.Plainly allowing dogs to bounce about in a car might affect the driving and control of the vehicle but dogs which are seated and have shown no such tendency hardly do .Perhaps someone in authority has told the press that unsecured dogs are an example of the kind of thing which might result in this offence being committed,but just as an example, not a rule in itself.

[Rosetta]

This should perhaps go into the Law section. Whether its an over zealous PC or not would be better clarified by a legal beagle ( sorry for the simile)
. I transport my dog in the passenger seat footwell. Is this ok? or am I breaking some law or other?

[lankeela]

One of our local pet shops was advertising that it was illegal for dogs to travel loose, and at the same time offering a special deal on dog seat belt harnesses!

There is no such law, apart from driving without care and attention (or something similar). I would have gone the whole way and let them take me to court. How about contacting Justice for Dogs? Ann Harpwood will know, and will certainly be able to put them in touch with a solicitor who could take their case on.

[jules77]

already done that Lankeela, Anne is not sure what the law is but admits it is woolly, apparently there is a 13 page document, but as yet, we havnt found it. The owner has paid the fine now, so not much point in a Solicitor for them, they would have had to have taken me to court!!

[hundreddolla]

An unrestrained dog on the back seat will become a missile that could quite easily kill anyone in the front seat if the car was involved in a crash. A friend of mine was 'cautioned' by a Policeman for having a computer monitor on the backseat of her hatchback. She protested vociferously untill the Policeman explained why it was so dangerous to her. I guess it's the same principle for dogs!