A few weeks ago, Skoda introduced its Dog Safety Belt, while it can be easily dismissed as just another marketing ploy to turn that target market into real buyers, the company stands to make a killing if laws to keep dogs strapped-in becomes mandatory.
In certain European countries such as France, Germany and the UK, dogs are required to be strapped-in by their owners when in a moving car. The owner has the liberty to choose how to go about with this; a dog grille, a doggy crate or by way of a good ol’ seatbelt for that matter – however this doesn’t seem like enough of a regulation.
It is said that 75 million households in Europe alone are dog-owners, a staggering number which could point to the possibility of a new law being passed – this is backed up with research by UK motor services RAC, that showed some 27% of motorist had breached laws due to improper restraining of pets while 4% was almost involved in an accident as their pet was not restrained at all.
In the UK, if a dog (or animal) was found to be unrestrained and was roaming around freely during the time of an accident, insurance companies have the legal right not to pay out a claim on the grounds that the animal was a contributing factor to the accident, according to Matt Oliver, spokesperson for insurance company gocompare.com. “The law is clear, you must secure your animal while in a car,” he said.
According to Skoda, when asked about why the company chose to introduce such specialised accessories to their customers, the company explained that the dog safety belt prevents the canine from “moving around in the back” and prevents the possibility of the dog flying towards the front in the event of a collision, further adding that it combines practicality and high levels of safety.
What do you think, is Skoda on to something here?
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Skoda…Dog safety belt
Proton…..Cat safety belt….can increase some sales,dude.
Toyota/Perodua…..no safety…. can double up as a coffin after accidents
It’s easy to humorously dismiss all Malaysian’s as not safety conscious.
It’s easy to call each other names and make silly jokes.
I think it’s more important that we support and encourage each other to implement good policies and good thinking no matter what our background is – one of the easiest steps to become a first world nation.
Europeans are light years ahead with safety mindset.
In this country, they prioritise changing to sport rims over getting a child seat.
yup..couldnt agree more with that.
hahahah, even some malaysian refuse to use safety belt…..much less dog-belt, if that is even installed.
Malaysia semua boleh….Maybe they think their P1 & P2 is super indestructable and super safe inside their car…
In Malaysia, pipu prioritise Bersih over wearing seatbelts at all. Go figure.
My dog travels in a car-travel crate.
But I’m still worried how safe he would be in the event of an accident.
I feel that most car crates and pet safety belts are designed to restrain the animal from distracting the driver or from becoming a projectile and hitting human occupants.
But would the current harness keep him safe from serious accidents? Have tried to google around but can’t seem to find any proper research or results.
As a owner of a very naughty husky I must say its a good move. Sometimes when we travel we bring along our husky. Although most of the time the husky is all quiet at the back seat with no room to run or jump around,we never know when the puppy will jump in front and distrupte our driving.
Why not? Dogs that are not restrained in the vehicle will become a weapon when an accident occurs. We have these on sale in our local Tesco stores….but that was a while back and I found it in Tesco stores which cater for expats living in surrounding areas. Not sure if they still sell it though.
I love Skoda brand, why no one bring in them to Malaysia? i often watch the review in YouTube, i can say it is very practical and a good performance car too, besides they are cheaper compare to other German rivals.
Its republic czech,dude.