What happens to a dog in the back seat of a car in an accident?
It hits the front seat passenger with a force of around 40 times its body weight when driving at speeds of 50 km/h, according to Ari-Pekka Elovaara from the Finnish Road Safety Council.
What about a dog sitting in a passenger's lap, under the same seatbelt?
"An adult's weight will crush the dog between themselves and the belt, when the belt locks [on impact]," said Elovaara. "It is absolutely forbidden to have a child under the same seatbelt as another passenger."
It is estimated that there are around 800,000 dogs in Finland, but in an accident man's best friend can become a danger to its owner, if it isn't securely strapped in.
It's no comfort that belts, transport cages and harnesses usually carry no guarantees.
"The marketing of these products is like the wild west," said Lindsey Wolko of the Center for Pet Safety in the United States, which tests the safety of different products intended to keep dogs safe in cars.
Some products are approved after testing, others are found to be deficient.
Wolko did not want to take a position on which would be safest: a cage or a harness that passed the Center's test. She has one absolute no: extensions to seat belts that clip on to a dog's ordinary lead.
They are easy to use, and often the purpose is to ensure the dog does not bother the driver of the car.
"They should be taken off the market," said Wolko.
The organisation's Youtube video shows what happens to a dog wearing one of those in an accident: Broken backbone, paralysis, and euthanasia.
"If it is attached to the collar, it can crush the windpipe," said Wolko. "They are unbelievably dangerous and increase the risk of injury to everyone in the car."
These extensions also give dogs freedom to move, so sudden braking can cause dogs to hurtle forward and become a danger to people in the car.
"The dog should be able to sit or lie down comfortably, but it should not move from one side of the car to the other," said Wolko.
No standards
Finnish retailers also sell products that are presented as safe without detailing what makes them so. Some products are claimed to have been developed in collaboration with universities and official regulators, and even tested in laboratories.
But how reliable are the test results if the manufacturer is involved in the testing?
Wolko is sceptical. At the same time the marketing claims that a product fulfills the criteria laid out for child safety seats in US Federal standard FVMSS213.
"Products intended for animals cannot pass those tests," said Wolko.
Some products tested by manufacturers have failed the tests imposed by Wolko and her team. On the other hand, her tests have also been criticised.
"It is difficult to say in these tests whether the methods are properly comparable or not," said Ari-Pekka Elovaara of the Finnish Road Safety Council. "If we are talking about a manufacturer's own stamp of approval, it could mean anything."
"There are no common directives, minimum requirements or standards."
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