Are you aware...

When I had a staffie I would put her on the back seat and put the seat belt on her.
Just as you would with anyone who can`t do it themselves.
One of the worst things I saw was a baby on the mothers lap in the front passenger seat.
The mother was belted up but not the baby.

No , never have and never would. Our dog either travels in a harness in his own seatbelt or in a travel cage which is secured with seatbelts .

I can’t imagine having him loose in the car .

Yes. Use a harness, don’t attach it to their collar they will be strangled in an accident. I would have thought thats obvious

My dogs travel in the boot, with a guard to stop them getting into the car or out of the boot. They're very well behaved, never attempt to get out of the boot until they're told to do so.

Yes I did know about the law. One of our local 'professional' dog walkers transports 5 - 7 dogs in his people carrier. none of them are restrained, the windows are open and dogs heads hang out of them, barking at other dogs/people. I'm staggered that people allow him to transport their dogs like this (don't start me on the way he opens the doors and lets the dogs run)

About 30 years ago, travelling with my father out of Aberdeen in the evening rush hour, we were stuck in a line of slow moving traffic behind an open-backed Land Rover with a sheep sitting there looking at us!

We were a tad un-nerved by this but the critter seemed quite content to trundle along at 5mph. It was only when the blockage cleared, somewhere out past Bucksburn, and everyone picked up speed, that Shaun decided he didn't like 35mph and took a flying leap on to our car's bonnet!

My father's splendid reflexes kicked in and he braked safely to a stop. Amazingly, we weren't hit from behind, either. The sheep slid off the bonnet as we came to a halt and lay in the road looking vaguely stunned. The Land Rover's driver realised he was missing his cargo and backed up, got out the cab and accused us of running over his sheep!

A slightly mad ten minutes followed until Grampian police showed up. Names and details were taken and, aside from a sheep shaped dent, the car was undamaged so we got on our way. The car we were in was actually a garage courtesy car as my dad's own vehicle was in for service. We explained the dent to the manager and everything was handled by their insurers. I would love to have seen that correspondence!

We heard later that the Land Rover driver was prosecuted and fined for having an insecure load or some such thing. Apparently he said in his defence that he'd been transporting sheep this way for 20 years and nothing like it had ever happened before!

I still have the occasional nightmare about low-flying sheep!

If you slip the seat belt through her collar, surely you’ll strangle her! Attach it to a harness.

We used to have our sheltie on the front seat with a seat belt - until I discovered he would be killed by the airbag if we crashed. I then found out about the insurance too. He is on his blanket on the back seat now, with his own seat belt attached to his harness. I am always amazed to see people with their dog loose.

An unrestrained dog is that same as anything else not either restrained or behind a “boot guard”, in an accident it becomes “a missile” . That’s why we now have babies and children properly restrained in a car seat. Common sense really... and yes, when I have my daughters dogs in the car they are in the back with a correctly fitted guard.

Yes, of course we knew this. Duh!

I didn't.

More than 20 years ago (I suspect before this became common knowledge or law), my then Doberman puppy was in the back seat of the car, in town centre traffic, and decided to be car sick down my shoulder, in my hair and all over the gear lever and handbrake. Lovely. I was on the way to the vets for her inoculations, and once I got to the vets and into the waiting room, it was like the parting of the Red Sea on the part of the other pet owners as I carried her through the waiting ranks!

Yes, of course we knew this. Duh!

We were on a motorway, long tailbacks, nose to tail traffic. I took a photo of a driver with the window open, a dog standing on his lap with it's front paws on the door, it's head stuck out the window. As we all moved slowly along, the driver had one hand on the wheel. He held his mobile phone in the other. I sent the photo to the police who responded that they would take action about the phone but there was no action they could take over the dog.

I only found out about this when we were visiting the RSPCA and Blue Cross centres earlier this year, looking to adopt a dog, and were told we'd need appropriate restraints in the car before we'd be allowed to take one home. I'm sure they said it was now the law.

I was speechless to see this when we were travelling north earlier this year

My late cat Hugo always managed to break out of whatever type of cat carrier I put him in, kennels at the vet and chattery too. He used to sit himself on the passenger seat and slept. He also had a habit of getting into the car unnoticed and came to work with me on many occasions. Presenting himself just as we arrived, or the supermarket, holidays, trips just about anywhere.

Ellie Anne No, it's not ok because if you had to do an emergency stop, your cat's carrier would go flying. I found this out when I was going very slowly to do a tight turn into the vet's car park and someone stupid came out much too fast without looking.

I had to slam on the brakes even though I was only doing about 10 mph and my little cat in her carrier shot into the footwell and she poo'ed all over herself with shock!

Since then I have always looped the seatbelt through the handle of the carrier.

My cat is always in his carrier but it’s not restrained. Is that ok do you think?

If the mouse that has recently spent time in our glove compartment was to get out into the interior of the car while DH or I are driving, there will almost certainly be an accident.
I hope the authorities don't think it's a pet!

As responsible dog owners as I assume we are, we know that- but I dont see why we are getting so exercised about what others do!
So as I said in answer to OP
1)
yes
and
2)
No

Recently my Golden Retriever refused to go in my boot behind the dog guard (he was lame a while ago so suspect he hurt his leg somehow? So last time I took him out I had him in a harness clipped into the seat belt ... when it came to get him out, he came out too easily, so I assumed somehow he had put his paw on the buckle and released himself - no, he had eaten the seat belt clear off! Cost me an arm and a leg to get that replaced!! So beware of harnesses if you haven't used them before!

Forgot to add

My friend's DH has her on his knee whilst driving

Doesn't she find it uncomfortable, as for her sitting on the parcel shelf , words fail me.......

My friend's DH has her on his knee whilst driving or she is allowed to sit like an unguided missile on the parcel shelf so that she can see out as she likes that!! I have told them, but hey ho ......!

my old neighbour never used to restrain his dog until one day it decided to sit on his knee when driving, then he made a dog proof area in the boot
I sometimes take my daughter's dog out, if for just a short distance I use a restraint on her harness the front seat [very small dog, can't reach me]. if anywhere else, I have a proper seat she sits in and is restrained on, she can either look out or usually goes to sleep. When with mum she is in a cage in the back of her van

MawB - we are worried because unrestrained dogs (animals) in cars can be the cause of accidents, and can seriously injure the occupants of the car if there is an accident. They will also invalidate the insurance if there is an accident as the OP has pointed out.

Mobile phones are also dangerous, but that is not what the thread was discussing.

Why are we worrying about other people's dogs or other pets? More concerned about the numpties I still see using their mobile phones while driving.