Driving with a pet in your car can be a fun experience, and with more than 1.8 million pets in Los Angeles County alone, dogs and cats are a common sight on state highways.
If you live in California, however, specific guidelines apply to you if you plan to travel with your furry friend.
Understanding California’s regulations on driving with pets is crucial whether you have a four-legged friend who enjoys car rides or just running errands. You should be aware of several things before getting on the road, from knowing how to safely restrain your pet in the back of a truck while driving to making sure they are not left unattended in the vehicle under conditions that can put them in danger.
So be sure to familiarize yourself with these crucial laws before taking your pet for a drive in California; doing so could prevent you from breaking the law and even jail time. We’ll show you everything you need to know about driving with your pet in California safely with the help of this guide.
Restrained and unrestrained animals in a vehicle in California
Have you ever seen a dog or cat on a driver’s lap and thought, “Is it even legal to have unrestrained animals in a car in California?” It certainly looks dangerous, and it would definitely be illegal if it were a human baby or child. However, there’s nothing in the California Vehicle Code specifically about having a dog or cat on your lap while driving or just unrestrained in your enclosed vehicle.
Even though it’s legal to have pets in the car without restraints, the police can still give you a ticket if they distract you and cause you to speed or drive recklessly. Distracted driving is still distracted driving.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) recommends you secure animals in your vehicle in several ways, even if it’s not the law. It is very dangerous to let your pets roam around the inside of your car while you are driving. They can distract you and cause serious accidents. For example, always have cats in their cages, car seats, or bags secured with a seatbelt. A free-roaming cat can obstruct their owner’s feet or block their view.
Dogs should be kept in a kennel or cage, away from the area around the driver’s seat. And all pets should be allowed to stretch and walk during long road trips, just like any human would want. Leash the pet before getting out of the car, and always do so in a rest area or similar location; never on the highway.
Can you drive with your dog on the bed of your truck in California?
What California does require by law is that animals be secured on the open backs of trucks. When driving around the dog on the open bed of your truck, you must be restrained or contained in a cage. You can’t just leash your dog or any animal because they might still try to jump and fall out. According to Section 23117 of the California Vehicle Code, drivers must secure their animal inside a container or cage, then cross-tether it to the vehicle.
The law applies only to urban areas and highways but not to rural areas or livestock. There are other regulations for livestock animals.
As we’ve already mentioned, dogs or any other pet don’t have to be secured when in an enclosed space or a vehicle with sides that are higher than 46 inches.
Don’t leave a pet unattended in a car.
As a pet owner, it is important to consider your pet’s safety when traveling in a vehicle. This means that if you are planning to stop, you must take your pet with you or make sure they have adequate ventilation and access to food and water.
California Penal Code 597.7 PC forbids leaving the animal unattended in a motor vehicle under extreme weather conditions or for too long without food and water. Not only is it against the law, but extreme weather can cause serious injuries or even death to a pet left alone in a car. So, pet owners should never leave their pets alone in their cars.
This crime usually comes with a $100 fine, but if the animal is badly hurt, you could be charged with a misdemeanor and sent to jail.
Can you leave a dog in a car on a cool day?
It’s possible not to be found guilty of violating the law, but it’s still not recommended. This is because even on cool days with high temperatures of only 60° to 70° Fahrenheit, your car’s interior can get to more than 100°, even in the shade, if not properly ventilated. A prosecutor can still prove the inside of your car was too hot or cold or your pet lacked food and water for too long.
The Right To Rescue Act: Breaking Into a Vehicle to Save an Animal
Anyone, either law enforcement officers, animal control officers, or regular citizens, can break a window or pry open a car door after calling the police if they see an animal in trouble inside a car.
In California, the 2017 Right to Rescue Act provides a legal way for people to break into a vehicle in order to save an animal. This is an important piece of legislation for pet owners and those who are concerned about their safety. The act states that anyone may enter a vehicle if it is believed that an animal is in danger from extreme temperatures, a lack of adequate ventilation, or other circumstances that may threaten the animal’s wellbeing.
The law also protects the person breaking into the vehicle from potential criminal prosecution. When rescuing an animal from a vehicle, it’s important to take steps such as calling 911 and waiting for instructions from law enforcement. They can then decide that the only remaining course of action is for you to enter the vehicle. It’s also necessary to use only minimal force when breaking into the vehicle and ensure all doors are closed afterward to prevent further danger or harm to the animal.
The law is less clear on the question of how much time you should wait for the owner of the car and pet before deciding to take action and save the animal. But the politicians who wrote the law simply state that the dispatcher will make that determination based on the facts like if the dog looks weak, is unconscious, or the weather is too extreme. Simply put, if the animal is in danger of dying, then the go-ahead is given for you to break a window, just like if it were a child of 6 or younger alone in the vehicle.
Defenses Against Leaving a Pet Unattended in Car
Understanding your legal rights and defenses is crucial if you are accused of leaving your pet unattended in a vehicle. There are several ways a good traffic lawyer can defend you against charges of leaving a pet in an unattended motor vehicle or putting an animal in danger of bodily injury.
Animals may not be left in a car under any circumstances that endanger their health or welfare, according to California law. However, there may be situations in which you were unaware that leaving your pet in the car could be harmful or in which you lacked a viable substitute. In these situations, you can argue that you took reasonable precautions to ensure the health and safety of your pet and that you had no intention of putting it in danger.
The main factors determining an animal’s danger are heat, cold, lack of food and water, lack of adequate ventilation, or any other circumstance that could “reasonably be expected to cause suffering, disability, or death,” according to the law.
A good defense can prove that none of these conditions were met by measuring the time exactly when you were away from the car or that you were falsely accused. The defense can make another argument that you were dealing with a reasonable emergency and had no time to ensure your pet’s safety or leave it with someone.
Please contact us at Ticket Snipers if you have any questions about getting a ticket for leaving your pet unattended or unrestrained or about how to defend yourself against any type of traffic ticket. We are available 24/7 if you’d like to chat with one of our trained consultants about defending against traffic infractions.