Arizona bill would make driving with your pet in your lap a traffic violation

Sure, Fido wants to go for a ride. And he probably wants to sit on your lap while you drive.

But all that will get the motorist in trouble under the terms of new legislation awaiting a Senate vote.

On a 6-1 margin, the Senate Committee on Public Safety this past week voted to make it a traffic violation for anyone to operate a vehicle in Arizona with an animal on the driver's lap.

And, no, it's not limited to dogs. Cats also would get drivers in trouble. And, for that matter, anything that's considered a pet.

Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) said she introduced Senate Bill 1270 at the behest of a constituent.

Larry Larkin, the former manager of the Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, said he has seen this occur many times. And he said the drivers just don't take the issue seriously

"In fact, I yelled at one gentleman one day with the dog in his lap,'' Larkin said. "And he said, 'That's a seeing-eye dog.' ''

But Larkin said that ignores the fact that it would be easy for a driver to become distracted.

And it's not just about the motorist or the damages or injuries that might be caused to another. Consider, he said, the scenario of a front-end collision.

"The airbag would probably dispose of your favorite animal,'' Larkin told lawmakers.

Only thing is, he said he has no information about how many accidents actually are caused by pets in the driver's seat.

Sen. Eva Burch agreed to go along with the idea, saying she was not dissuaded by the lack of data linking a pet in a lap with the chance of an accident. She said there are enough related studies.

"They show that just a two second distraction increases accidents by 60%,'' said Burch.

"So it's pretty serious,'' she said. "It's very easy to get two seconds worth of distraction off of an animal.''

But the Mesa Democrat said she may pay a political price for her support.

"I don't know how that's going to go over in my district,'' said Burch. "I see a lot of animals in cars.''

Sen. T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge) called the legislation "a no-brainer.''

"You drive with an animal, especially one like (wife) Melissa and I, you want to go ahead and invest in a little seat belt for that dog,'' he said. "Safety for them, safety for you.''

Sen. Hildy Angius questioned, at least facetiously, why the legislation presumes that it is the driver who is at fault.

"Can we have an amendment that you give the ticket to the dog?'' asked the Bullhead City Republican.

"My chihuahua insists on jumping on my lap when I'm driving,'' she said. "So I blame her.''

But Sen. David Gowan, said he sees that question through a more serious lens.

"Animals will just do what they do if they're in the vehicle sometimes,'' said the Sierra Vista Republican. And he became the lone vote against it.''

The measure now needs approval by the full Senate.