Letting your dog ride loose in the car is one of those things people do without thinking, because he "travels calmly" and "nothing has ever happened." The problem is what happens the day it does.
Physics doesn't forgive
In a sudden stop or a crash, the animal's body keeps moving at the speed the car was going. A 20 kg dog in a 50 km/h impact can exert a force equivalent to more than twenty times its weight. That's close to half a ton thrown forward.
That hurts the dog, and it also hurts whoever is sitting in the front seat.
What the rules say in Spain
The General Traffic Regulations don't name a specific system for animals, but they do require the driver to keep their freedom of movement and field of vision, and to position passengers and cargo properly. A loose dog that squeezes between the seats or climbs into your lap breaks both rules.
The most common fines for this are around €80 to €100, and they can go up if the animal is considered to have distracted the driver. Amounts and criteria change over time, so if you have any doubts, check the DGT website.
The four systems that work
- Harness with double attachment to the seat belt. The most practical option for everyday trips with medium and large dogs. It should be a real harness, wide and padded, not a thin strap.
- Pet carrier. The safest system, especially for small dogs and cats. It goes on the floor behind the front seats, or in the boot against the back seats.
- Dividing barrier. For large cars and dogs that travel in the boot. It separates the boot from the passenger compartment.
- Booster seat with a tether. For small dogs. It lets them see out of the window, which usually calms them, without being loose.
The most common mistakes
- Clipping the collar lead to the seat belt. This is the most dangerous of all: in a sudden stop, all the force goes to the neck. Always a harness, never a collar.
- Holding them in your arms or letting them sit loose in the front passenger seat.
- Letting them stick their head out of the window. Air hits their eyes and ears at high pressure, and a single bump in the road is all it takes.
- An open boot with no barrier. In a crash, they're thrown forward just as they would be from the seat.
To help them travel comfortably
- No food in the two hours beforehand. It greatly reduces car sickness.
- Stop every two hours so they can stretch their legs, drink and do their business.
- Always keep water within reach. A travel bottle with a built-in bowl can be handled with one hand at a petrol station.
- Never alone in the car. Not even for five minutes, and not with the window down. The inside of a car in the sun heats up within minutes.
- If it's their first time, start with short trips that end in something nice: the park, the countryside. That way the car doesn't just mean the vet.
In our transport and safety section you'll find double-attachment seat belts, booster seats and pet carriers, and in travel water bowls, bottles with bowls for your stops.
You might also like: everything for travelling by car with your dog (seats, car beds, covers, boot protector and ramp).