Subaru of America, Inc. officially announced today, June 4, 2015, that it will continue to support pet safety and crash testing of pet safety products through their partnership with the Center for Pet Safety (CPS), a registered non-profit consumer advocacy and research organization.
The company’s research shows that 56% of pet owners in America travel with their pets, and both organizations want to be sure those companion animals are safe. Their research also shows that 1 in 5 pet owners who travel with their pet, travel with them in their laps. Subaru wants to make pet parents aware of the dangers associated with risky behavior like that.
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To help promote pet safety in vehicles, Subaru will fund CPS’s testing of small carriers and pet crates in crash situations. The study was designed by CPS and will include an investigation of crate connection options for owners who travel with their dogs often. It will also examine the structural integrity of the crates and carriers, as well as help gather data that is needed to formulate testing and performance standards of crates.
This partnership will continue the work that began in 2013 with the pet harness testing performed by CPS. The Harness Crashworthiness Study uncovered some major differences in the performance of many popular pet restraints. Many of them resulted in catastrophic failure that would likely cause serious injury to the pet and the passengers in the vehicle.
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Michael McHale, director of corporate communications for Subaru, says that the company wants to make pet owners aware of the correct safety measures that can be taken to help protect their pets while they’re riding in the car. He says Subaru was happy to support the second phase of the study.
He also says that half of Subaru drivers are pet owners, and 69% of those folks own at least one dog. The automaker believes that it is their responsibility to inform their pet owning customers about the simple things they can do to protect their beloved animals.
CPS and Subaru will be enlisting MGA Research Corporation, an independent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contracted testing laboratory, once again. They will conduct rigorous crash testing on a variety of commonly available pet safety products using specially-designed, realistic crash test dogs. The results will be shared later this summer, including the best practices for securing pets in a vehicle and a travel crate sizing guide.
