Cat Causes Car Collision with Power Pole

April 29, 2008

MODESTO, Calif. – Traffic came to a screeching halt last Friday, but not due to Central California rush hour volume, rather a frisky feline was to blame.

Modesto police responded to an accident, where a car collided with a power pole. The incident was blamed on the driver’s cat, which was travelling on the woman’s lap.

The unrestrained cat apparently scratched the driver and caused her to drive straight into the pole.

With the pole downed, the street was closed and traffic was detained for more than an hour, a Modesto police sergeant told The Associated Press.

The accident drives home the point State Representative Bill Maze (R-Visalia) is currently making with legislation that would make it illegal to hold animals while driving.

AB 2233 moved from the Assembly Appropriations Committee to the floor on Wednesday.

The bill prohibits drivers from “holding a live animal in his or her arms, or upon his or her lap,” including dogs, cats, birds and rodents.

While statistics are not available for California on how many accidents are caused by distracting passenger pets, the American Automobile Association recently released a study ranking pets among the top in-car distractions.

Surpassing eating, drinking and cell phones, pets and loose objects were found by AAA to be the third most distracting variable to drivers within their own cars.

Although California’s legislation does not specify how a pet should be restrained, Bark BuckleUp is a California group pushing for nationwide seatbelt legislation for pets, much like the “Click it or Ticket” program for human passengers.

Christina Selter, the group’s founder, says the number one reason a pet should be restrained while traveling is that pets can become projectiles – where even a low-speed accident at 30 mph, a 60-pound dog can cause an impact of about 1,200 pounds.

She also says on the group’s Web site, barkbuckleup.com, in the case of a collision, having pets restrained would prevent them from getting out of the vehicle and running into traffic, potentially causing another accident.

In recent months, this is the second accident caused by a pet as reported by Pet Pulse. The previous accident involved an Oregon man whose Chihuahua, named Taco, became lodged under his brake pedal. The trapped pooch caused the driver, Scott Calderon, to crash through barricades, a chain-linked fence and a guardrail sending his minivan flying off a local highway and into a ravine.

The Portland region had recently been flooded, forcing the bridge to be closed. Calderon and Taco walked away from the accident, after rescue workers spent two hours rescuing them from the river embankment.

Tell us what you think about “Cat Causes Car Collision with Power Pole” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.

Robin Wallace, Pet Pulse, The Associated Press and California Aggie contributed to this article.