Your safety when traveling may depend on the steps you take to ensure your pet’s travel safety.
Ensuring your pet’s travel safety when on a journey with you may also be a critical factor in your safety. Many people choose to take their pets along when they travel. Some forms of transportation can be dangerous for your pet. When your pet is with you, there will always be 
a concern about the pet’s safety and well-being. This concern may distract you and put you in danger.
Please consider these concerns when traveling with a pet.
Our world has become one in which we must pay attention to our surroundings. An uncontrolled pet is a distraction. Your attention will typically be on getting the pet under control. Further, if you pet breaks free from you and runs (fear, curiosity), you will typically chase the pet. Under these circumstances, your pet could easily lead you somewhere you don’t want to be. This is a good time to point out the value of having your pet fitted with a microchip.
If you are traveling by airplane, ship or train, the possibility exists that your pet could break away from you. If your pet bothers another traveler, you may not be able to control the reactions of other travelers. If travel with your pet requires that the pet be in a carrier, keep in mind that requirement may protect your pet more than it protects other travelers. Some pets become quite nervous when surrounded by strangers or when they feel threatened by noises. Traveling with your pet in a carrier may help the pet to feel safer.
When traveling by air with a pet, there are many issues to consider. Should your pet travel in the cabin or in the cargo area of the plane? What can you do to ensure the safety of your pet? Some pets may not be able to manage the stress of air travel at all. Travel outside the U.S. with a pet should be considered only after learning about the destination country’s rules and laws about animals being brought into the country. Quarantine for some period may be required. You also need to know about any restrictions to bringing your pet back to the U.S. from some countries.
You can find an excellent article about Airline travel with pets here. http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-owners-bill-of-rights-airline-travel.
We should all be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. We know that eating while driving and texting and phone use are distractions that can cause or intensify an auto accident. Travel with a pet in your vehicle can be dangerous for you and for your pet. The better your preparation, the safer both you and your pet will be.
Pets should always travel in the back seat. They should be restrained in a way that will not harm them. They should be restrained in a way that is safe and secure. The type of restraint needed will depend upon the training and temperament of your pet. When choosing a restraint, consider how the restraint will affect your pet in the event of a sudden stop.
There may be no greater distraction for a driver than a pet climbing or jumping into their lap. This kind of distracted driving can be deadly. For this reason, it may be advisable to travel with another human who can attend to the pet’s needs while you are driving. Ensure that you have water and food for your pet and that you stop often to walk your pet. Knowing that your pet is safe and that its well-being has been attended to will also reduce the distraction of concern about your pet.
On this National Pet Travel Safety Day, I encourage you always to plan for any contingency when traveling with a pet (even for a short distance). Doing so is in the best interest of pet travel safety and of your safety. If you see indications that another driver is being distracted by a pet, slow down and try to increase your distance from that vehicle.
Pet Travel Safety Day is a good reminder that travel with pets can be dangerous for everyone if the proper planning has been ignored. See to your pet’s travel safety in advance of the trip and not as an emergency later. Let’s all take responsibility for the safety of our pets, and for our safety and the safety of others.
Resources:
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/travel-safety-tips
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/traveling_tips_pets_ships_planes_trains.html
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/a-pet-owners-bill-of-rights-airline-travel
