Are you putting your dog in danger in the car – and risking a big fine?

Millions of motorists are unwittingly putting their dogs in danger in cars – and risking huge fines of up to £5,000, an alarming new report reveals.

The new research highlights how six in 10 dog-owning drivers say they break the law and travel with unrestrained dogs in their cars.

This would make around 8million of the UK’s estimated 13.5million pet hounds vulnerable to horrific injury or death in the event of a crash, while also increasing the risk of a car accident caused by distraction.

Worryingly, many motorists are simply unaware that some of the most common transgressions are breaking the law, as well as creating ‘a missile in the car’.

These include letting their unrestrained pet dog sit on their lap, or with its head out of the window, or the common move of stowing their prized pet loose in the boot.

Drivers breaching the Highway Code on securing pets are deemed to be driving carelessly, meaning they can be hit with three to nine penalty points and a fine of £1,000 which can soar to £5,000 if taken to court.

Not restraining your dog in the car is deemed careless driving, resulting in three to nine points and a fine of £1,000

Details of the report were revealed exclusively to This is Money and MailOnline to coincide with the opening of Crufts, where an industry-wide campaign called Imagine The Impact is being launched to change pet travel behaviour and ‘urgently save animals from needless injury’.

The new safety initiative is being launched by pet car-seat and restraint specialists Tavo, which carried out the research.

It is backed by TV vet Dr Scott Miller, who said: ‘At just 30mph, an unrestrained pet can experience forces 30 to 60 times their own body weight in the event of a collision – that’s the equivalent of a cockapoo weighing the same as a polar bear and becoming a missile inside the car’.

Organised annually by the Kennel Club, Crufts runs this year from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 March, at The NEC, Birmingham, and is for the third year running sponsored by Skoda.

The Highway Code says dogs must be suitably secured, so they avoid distracting the driver and to prevent injury in the case of a sudden stop.

Many dog owners fail to do this, despite the threat of fines of up to £5,000, up to nine points on a licence, and invalidating insurance for failing to safely secure their pet while driving.

A One Poll survey of more than 2,000 dog-owning motorists revealed 44% have let their dog sit on their lap 

Dogs need to be restrained with a seat belt harness, pet carrier or cage or dog guard

The new Tavo report shows the degree to which motorists are widely flouting the law – mainly through ignorance – with up to 40 per cent of drivers admitting to being distracted by their dogs while driving.

Its One Poll survey of more than 2,000 dog-owning motorists revealed that as well as the 59 per cent who fail to restrain their dogs in the car, 44 per cent have let it sit on their lap – rising to 71 per cent among younger motorists in the 18 to 34 age group.

A quarter of drivers allow their dogs to put their head out of the window – rising to four in 10 in the younger age group.

The report noted: ‘Motorists also risk a fine putting their dog into the boot of the car but failing to restrain it with a seat belt harness, pet carrier or cage or dog guard.

Rule 57 of the Highway Code states: ‘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.’