Car safety

I was driving home the other day and came behind a car in which the driver had her window open, her dog on her lap and the dog's head was sticking out the window feeling the breeze and smelling the smells that dogs do.

I wanted to say something to this lady but really never had the opportunity, and then, with the way some people are on the road these days, I probably would have come out the bad guy.

What were my concerns? Here they are:
1. I was concerned as to how a driver could safely operate a vehicle with an animal sitting on the owner/drivers lap?
2. I was concerned that if the car were involved in an accident, aside from potential injury to the driver, the poor dog would almost be guaranteed being injured because the pet was not secured.
3. I was concerned that because this was a fidgety toy poodle the dog could easily have squirmed out of the drivers hands and out of the window.
4. I was concerned that if this had happened, that the driver would have taken her car directly to the scene of an accident in trying to grab her dog as it was squirming out of the window.

I know we all love our pets and want to hold them and hug them. But we need to respect the fact that when we exercise the privilege of driving we need to be considerate of the other drivers on the road as well. For our safety and that of our pets I would suggest:
1. When we drive, lets not keep pets on our laps. As much as we love them, they are a distraction.
2. When we drive, let's use a harness to keep the pet safely in his/her own seat.

Have a safe summer.