We all love seeing a dog with his head out the window of a car living his best life, but it's not the safest way for him to travel.
One in four of us are guilty of not restraining our pets in the car, a new survey reveals.
Twenty-four per cent of Irish drivers don't use a belt or pet carrier when travelling with their cat, dog or other furry friend, according to the AA.
Six per cent of drivers admitted to letting their pet loose in the car in the past month - but fewer than one per cent said they had let a human do the same in their car in the past month.
It's as important to make sure our animal passengers are restrained as anyone else, the AA's Director of Consumer Affairs has said.
"If you are travelling anywhere with a pet it’s important that you use a pet safety belt or a travel carrier as opposed to having them loose in the car with you," Conor Faughnan told
Dublin Live.
"While it may seem harmless to allow your pet to pop his head out the window or sit in the passenger seat next to you, animals are, by their nature, unpredictable and could easily become startled or react in a way which takes your concentration off the task at hand.
"Ultimately, very few people would allow a passenger in their car without using a seatbelt and we need to take the same precaution with our pets too."
