If there was ever a purchase you were going to make that had a direct impact on your Boxer's safety, it is for sure a car seat or restraint.
And if you're wavering on whether a Boxer needs to be secured in the car, take a look at some important facts:
Stats on driving accidents:
- There are about 6 million car accidents in the U.S. each year. That's 500,000 a month, over 100,000 a week, and over 16,000 a day.
- Every year, 43,000 people in the U.S. die from car accidents.
- Every year 2.9 suffer injuries ranging from slight to severe.
- While there are no exact stats on how many dogs are hurt or killed as passengers, 56% of owners drive with their dogs on a regular basis.
- Though you may be an excellent driver, you have zero control over everyone around you nor do you have control over road and weather conditions. Weather conditions impact accident rates
(rain, snow, ice and even wind); of the almost 6 million crashes each year, 22% are weather related.
So, needless to say, accidents are happening round the clock and no one can say it won't happen to them.
If you had your Boxer in your car and there was an accident, here's what can happen if he's not properly restrained:
Any objects in a car that are not properly fastened (you, your pets, even your lunch cooler) will be at the mercy of physics.
The basics behind this is that Force = Mass * Acceleration. In regard to acceleration, this is variable due to both change in velocity and change in time. However, to keep this simplified, the most commonly used math for car accidents is the simple: speed x weight = crash force.
- This means if your car crashed going at 35 MPH, a Boxer puppy weighing 40 lbs.would be thrown with the force of a 1360 lb. object. A bit shocking, right?
- At 40 MPH, a Boxer dog weighing 50 lbs. would be thrown with the force of a 2000 lb. object.
- At 50 MPH, a Boxer dog weighing 55 lbs. would be thrown with the force of a 2750 lb. object.
So, even if your arm shoots out with the 'save reflex' or you try any other split second maneuver, this can't protect your Boxer if he's not properly restrained during an accident.
And not only can your Boxer dog suffer terrible injuries or be killed, but pets that are thrown like this can severely injure other passengers.
And last but not least, having your Boxer free in the car can
actually cause an accident:
- An estimated 20% of crashes involve distracted driving.
- 29% of owners admit that they become distracted while driving due to their dog.
- 65% of owners admit to performing at least 1 action while driving that takes their focus off the road (petting, reaching out to keep the dog in place when braking, giving treats, etc.)
- Just taking your eyes off the road for 2 seconds doubles the chances of an accident.
- Though 82% of owners admitted to knowing that they ought to have their dog in a car seat or buckled up, only 16% actually followed through and did it.
To summarize, with the number of car accidents that happen, the type of injury (including fatal injury) that dogs can suffer from, and how being unrestrained can lead
to an accident, there's no excuse to not keep your Boxer safe.