Dog trainers in New Zealand have been teaching rescue dogs to drive cars. 

The ‘dog driving school’ has been quite a talking point in my office this week. It really has to be seen to be believed but there is footage to prove that dogs can drive cars.  Click here to see Monty the giant schnauzer turning a steering wheel, moving a gear stick and applying brakes with his paws.  Whatever next?

On the one hand this is an amazing illustration of how clever dogs are.  It goes to show that they really can be trained to do almost anything!  But as a personal injury lawyer, road safety is always at the forefront of my mind and I cannot help but feel nervous at the prospect of our four legged friends taking to the roads!  Can this possibly be safe? If a dog in a car causes an accident, can he be found negligent like human drivers? Are they insured? The mind boggles!

Fortunately it does not look as though dogs will be driving in public any time soon. The charity behind the canine driving lessons aims to highlight dogs’ intelligence, to encourage more people to adopt abandoned dogs. They are not planning to let Monty and his canine friends loose on the public highway just yet.  As can be seen from the video, the dogs’ driving lessons take place on private land.  For now, road users are not at risk of being injured by negligent doggy drivers, which is a huge relief!  I won’t be asking my car insurers to add my pet dog to the insurance policy at the moment then…