Subaru is throwing in money to improve car safety... for dogs! Subaru has been
using pooches in their advertising for a while to be pet friendly, but this year they've been funding research at the nonprofit Center for Pet Safety related to the dangers of driving with a dog, according to
Automotive News. Here's the research:
The first round of Subaru-funded tests, released this spring, found that while many popular dog harnesses succeed in keeping dogs from distracting the driver, they will break when stretched with the force of a crash. Videos of earlier tests show that when a harness breaks, a dog can be propelled headfirst like a missile toward the front seat.
Such simulations might even understate the risk to pets, because only 16 percent of dog owners restrain the dog in the car, according to a 2011 survey by AAA