Last updated on April 13th, 2015 at 01:54 pm

I was talking to a friend yesterday who spends all his working life driving around North Wales and the North West of England in a van delivering office supplies to businesses.

Image Copyright John Haslam – licensed under Creative Commons

He usually takes his dog in the van with him, the dog sitting on the seat next to him as he says that it gives him some company during what can sometimes be long drives and also provides a little bit of security as people see the dog in the cab of the van and seem to stay away from the vehicle.

He was telling me that a few days before he had been driving along a local road when he had been stopped by a policeman.  It seems that the officer had spotted that the dog was free in the cab and he wanted to point out how dangerous this could be. Although there is no law in the UK that actually states that dogs (and other pets) should be secured  there is advice in the Highway Code – Rule 57 says:

“When in a vehicle make sure dogs or other animals are suitably restrained so they cannot distract you while you are driving or injure you, or themselves, if you stop quickly. A seat belt harness, pet carrier, dog cage or dog guard are ways of restraining animals in cars.”

It was pointed out to my friend that not only could the dog be distracting if it suddenly spotted something and started to bark but in the event of an accident, or an emergency stop, he could be sent straight through the windscreen with possible fatal results.

Having taken the advice on-board my friend decided to look at getting a dog car harness, having looked around in local stores and not really seeing what he wanted he looked online and found that the large EzyDog harness sold online by Canine and Co would fit his collie.  He ordered one of these, as it includes not only a seat belt attachment complete with a stainless steel snap shackle for quick release from a vehicle seat belt but also has light reflective tape for hi-visibility in low light conditions and top quality stainless steel fittings coupled with marine grade impact resistant fasteners.

There was some doubt as to how he thought his pet would cope with the harness but to my friends amazement the dog seems to enjoy wearing the harness and even appears to look forward to wearing it.