---
title: "Proposal to Ban Driving With Dog in Lap in Michigan"
description: "Lawmaker concerned canine can be a distraction for motorists."
date: "2017-11-30"
modified: "2019-07-27"
authors:
  - name: "Kate Gibson"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kate-gibson"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/16581/proposal-to-ban-driving-with-dog-in-lap-in-michigan"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "distracted driving"
  - "dog"
  - "driving"
  - "Law"
  - "Michigan"
---

# Proposal to Ban Driving With Dog in Lap in Michigan

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/02/ap_340296818681.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

If your dog crawls into your lap while you're diving in Michigan, you may in the future have to pull over.

That's because a bill introduced in the state legislature this week would prohibit drivers in the state from [driving with a dog](<https://dog-gear.com/dog-portable-and-travel/>) on their lap.

Introduced by Detroit Democrat LaTanya Garrett, the [measure](<https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(0g4kzycszcqwhfrnxrvnbswb))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectname=2017-HB-5277>) states "an individual shall not operate a motor vehicle while a dog is sitting in his or her lap," unless the canine is there for a medical reason under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Someone violating the rule would face a $100 fine for a first offense or $200 for a two-time offender.

Lest one thinks Garrett has something against dogs, she told *MLive.com* that she has two dogs as pets herself. But the lawmaker said she has seen others behind the wheel with a dog in their lap and other [distractions](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/16567/research-suggests-pokemon-go-behind-hundreds-of-traffic-deaths>).

"It's just too much going on when a driver really needs to be focused on the road. Two seconds of being distracted can cost lives, it can be very fatal," the [website](<https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/11/bill_would_ban_michigan_driver.html>) quoted Garrett as saying.

The legality of driving with a dog on one's lap is not clear under [current law](<https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(uchvowud2ga3stqkkfxs2p1d))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-750-50>), which prohibits the carrying of a live animal "in or upon a vehicle without providing a secure space, rack, car, crate, or [cage](<https://dog-gear.com/dog-crates/>), in which livestock may stand, and in which all other animals may stand, turn around, and lie down during transportation."

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