# Dog on driver's lap + airbag deploys = what? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574 "2014-03-01T03:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![weef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@weef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/weef)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/1 "2014-03-01T03:22:47Z")
It seems to be a more common occurrence now where I see someone driving with a small dog on their lap with the dog usually looking out the driver side window or just sitting in front of the steering wheel. What would happen to the dog and the driver if the car was involved in a minor accident where the airbag deployed, assuming no serious injuries would have occurred otherwise? I’m thinking the dog has a better chance of surviving the airbag than the driver who had a 10 - 15 pound projectile slammed into their head/chest. Has something like this ever happened? ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/2 "2014-03-01T04:02:54Z")
I have no idea if it has happened but it is certainly spoken about in dog welfare circles as a really bad, cruel and stupid thing to do. The airbag will probably kill the dog who may well kill you in the accident they distract you into having [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-tips/air-bags-and-lap-dogs-a-deadly-combination/article1241056/](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-tips/air-bags-and-lap-dogs-a-deadly-combination/article1241056/) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/3 "2014-03-01T04:19:53Z")
If it can kill drivers [under 5’4"](http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1996-11-07/news/1996312009_1_bags-deploy-air-bag-bags-called) to be hit in the chest with a driver’s side airbag, I’m pretty sure it’d kill the dog too. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/4 "2014-03-01T17:06:30Z")
Dead dog. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/5 "2014-03-01T18:35:41Z")
A friend of my wife was driving with her small dog on her lap when she got into an accident that caused the airbag to deploy. The dog was killed. The friend didn’t have any serious injuries. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/6 "2014-03-01T19:12:06Z")
I didn’t know they were so powerful until i heard the story of a child being decapitated by an airbag. So…dead dog. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/7 "2014-03-01T22:48:00Z")
This is why I let the dog drive and I sit in back. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/8 "2014-03-03T15:03:23Z")
In the last year, I have been nearly hit twice by distracted drivers with small dogs in their laps. It’s almost as bad as the grandmas that now text and drive. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/9 "2014-03-03T15:16:00Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-tips/air-bags-and-lap-dogs-a-deadly-combination/article1241056/](http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-tips/air-bags-and-lap-dogs-a-deadly-combination/article1241056/) > > > [@](#): > > > > The American Automobile Association (AAA) recently released the results of a study that found one in five American drivers drive with a dog in their lap. The survey, partially funded by Kurgo, makers of pet restraint system, showed not only that a lot of people take their dogs with them in the front seat, they commonly engage in risky behaviour when the pet is present. Oh, please. One in five drivers? Millions upon millions of dogs in drivers’ laps? With the survey funded by a dog seat-belt company? It’s a shovelware story. But it’s in the Grope & Flail, so it must be true. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/10 "2014-03-03T16:14:05Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Oh, please. One in five drivers? Millions upon millions of dogs in drivers’ laps? With the survey funded by a dog seat-belt company? > > It’s a shovelware story. But it’s in the Grope & Flail, so it must be true. I doubt that many people drive with a dog in their lap on any kind of regular basis, simply because most people don’t drive around with their dog on any kind of regular basis. But I have no problem believing that many _have_ driven with a dog in their lap, because I work at a vet clinic, and more than half of our small dog patients show up riding in the owner’s lap. (Ditto very young large breed puppies.) I also have no problem believing someone would word a survey so it’s basically asking if you’ve _ever_ driven with the dog in your lap and then reporting the results in a way that makes it sound like everyone who answered “yes” drives with a dog all the time. As the saying goes, figures don’t lie, but liars do figure. As for the OP, you ever read those warnings about what an airbag can do to a 15# baby, even one in a car seat? It’s pretty horrible. Now imagine that baby is sitting a whole lot closer to the airbag with no protection whatsoever… ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/11 "2014-03-03T16:31:56Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > This is why I let the dog drive and I sit in back. Thank you. I needed a laugh out loud moment this morning. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/12 "2014-03-03T16:34:29Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > This is why I let the dog drive and I sit in back. You must drive a Subaru! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/13 "2014-03-03T17:46:11Z")
I don’t deny the danger of driving with a dog on a driver’s or passenger’s lap. I take issue with the story’s bullshit to sell dog restraints. According to [**answers.com**](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_licensed_drivers_are_there_in_the_US), (so it must be true) estimates are 202 million to 240 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2006. Using the more conservative figure still means 404 million people or passengers occupying the front seats — one in five — drive or have driven with dogs on their laps. A reader is left to interpret that silly story to account for all those people because of a lack of any facts pertaining to who was asked and what the question was. They are conspicuous by their absence, probably because they wouldn’t serve the dog seat-belt company’s purpose — selling dog seat belts. For all anyone knows, the “pollsters” asked only five people with dogs who showed up at a vet clinic. According to [**this**](http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-most-pet-dog-population.html), (for what it’s worth) in 2012 there were 75.8 million dogs in the U.S., so nearly half had been driven in a vehicle’s front seat. Since the story involved at least 404 million people and about 70 million dogs, guestimating 2006 figures, I’ll quote Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers: “Bo-oh-GUS!” And since I’m on a roll (in my own mind) the leed stinks, too, which put me on my guard for the rest of the filler. > [@](#): > > We’ve all seen it - someone holding a dog in their lap while driving down the road. In some cases, it is even the driver. No, “we” haven’t all seen it (and driving down the road is redundant). It’s akin to those newspaper stories we’ve all seen: “We all have those smelly fast-food hamburger bags, wrappers, fries boxes and sticky, empty drink cups that filled the back seat during the winter.” No, we all don’t. Hurrumph. And something about my lawn (covered in hamburger wrappers). We’ve all seen what’s that’s like. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/14 "2014-03-03T21:51:09Z")
When I had 20-pounds dogs, I’d let them ride in my lap (one at a time) if I was only driving five minutes down the street to the vet. If I was going to be in the car for much longer, I had doggy seat belts they were required to stay in. Now I have a 75-pound dog and not only can she not ride in my lap, but she weighs enough to trigger the seatbelt chime so I pretty much have to strap her in. She face-planted into the dash a couple times when I had to stop short and she slid right off the seat, so when I finally got her a seatbelt, it was clear to me that she understood what it was for and she seems to like it. I still worry about what air bags would do to her because they were not designed to protect dogs; they were designed to protect humans. So I’m not sure a dog will act like a human body in an accident. I might have to start making her sit in the back seat. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/15 "2014-03-04T02:04:10Z")
My 50lb dog rides in the front seat, but only in our little rural subdivision at low speeds. As soon as we get to the main road he jumps into the back seat. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/16 "2014-03-04T02:54:08Z")
I’m really glad **weef** started this thread. My dog uses a seat belt harness because I don’t want a 60 lb projectile flying around in case of an accident. I honestly never thought about the air bags. She will ride in the back seat from now on. Thank you **weef**. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/17 "2014-03-05T01:28:34Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > I don’t deny the danger of driving with a dog on a driver’s or passenger’s lap. I take issue with the story’s bullshit to sell dog restraints. > > According to [**answers.com**](http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_licensed_drivers_are_there_in_the_US), (so it must be true) estimates are 202 million to 240 million licensed drivers in the United States in 2006. Using the more conservative figure still means 404 million people or passengers occupying the front seats — one in five — drive or have driven with dogs on their laps. Those numbers are way off because there are only 314 million people in the entire country. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/18 "2014-03-05T02:49:08Z")
The answer is obvious: carmakers MUST come up with doggie air bags. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/19 "2014-03-05T03:48:51Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The answer is obvious: carmakers MUST come up with doggie air bags. and they must do it before a real **cat** astrophy happens! ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574/20 "2014-03-05T05:55:48Z")
> [@Foxy40](#): > > Thank you. I needed a laugh out loud moment this morning. 😉 Yer Welcome! > [@GaryM](#): > > You must drive a Subaru! Not me! Besides, I told you, the dog drives! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-on-drivers-lap-airbag-deploys-what/682574.md?page=2)