Where should a dog sit in the car?

Front passenger airbags deploy with enough force to seriously injure a dog, and a dog on a driver's lap blocks the steering wheel and view, creating a genuine crash risk for everyone in the car. Even a calm, well-behaved dog can shift suddenly at a sound or movement outside, so the front seat is not a safe option regardless of temperament.

A dog secured in the middle of the back seat, rather than by a door, sits furthest from a side-impact zone and often has the clearest forward view through the windscreen, which can help with motion sickness too. A crash-tested crate in an estate car or SUV boot works well for larger or crate-trained dogs, particularly on longer trips where a dog might want to lie down fully.

A small dog often travels comfortably in a secured carrier on the back seat, while a large, energetic dog may do better with a boot barrier or crate that gives more room to settle without being able to climb between seats. Whatever the choice, the restraint should stop the dog moving around freely, since an unrestrained dog becomes a projectile risk in even a moderate collision.

Try out any new seating arrangement on a short local drive before a longer trip, watching how your dog settles, since a position that looks sensible on paper sometimes turns out to make a dog anxious or car sick in practice.