The Center for Pet Safety (CPS) is not sitting on its heels following the results of its 2013 Harness Crashworthiness Study in which 100 percent of all large-dog car restraints tested failed to protect pets and humans during simulated crashes.

The organization announced July 15 that it has just launched the first certification program for pet safety harness restraints. The Safety Harness Crash Test Protocol and Rating System, voluntary for manufacturers, encourages restraint manufacturers to evaluate the effectiveness of their products using a consistent test methodology. Manufacturers' participation can qualify them to feature a Safety-Certified Seal on their product packaging.

CPS developed the certification program in response to the 2013 Harness Crashworthiness Study, which crash-tested several restraints and determined that when harnesses fail during crashes, pets become a threat to humans because their bodies become missiles. Additionally, the study found that restraints can potentially harm dogs by choking or squeezing them when the harness tightens during an accident.

Lindsey Wolko, CPS founder, said that her organization believes their collaboration with manufacturers will lead to increased safety for pets and their owners.

"The Center for Pet Safety took great care evaluating the data returned from our 2013 study to understand what safety harness products should do to protect life," Wolko said. "Pet product manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure that these safety devices protect human life and provide the best chance of survival to the pet in the case of an accident."

To help testing facilities accurately gear their evaluations toward dogs, CPS said it is allowing them to pre-order from a limited production run of its version 2.1 CPS Crash Test Dogs. 

How manufacturers can participate

The Center for Pet Safety encourages interested manufacturers to contact [email protected] or call 1-800-324-3659.