When it comes to the biggest cause of drivers becoming distracted and, as a result, becoming involved in car accidents, most of the experts have focused on cell phones as the main culprit. A new study just released last month by the American Automobile Association and Kurgo, a maker of pet travel products, however, indicates there might be something else to blame for those car accidents...something a little furrier.

Yes, the family dog.

No, we're not barking up the wrong tree. According to the AAA, 31 percent of dog-owning drivers admit to being distracted by their pooches while driving with them - and 59 percent said they have engaged in at least one dog-based distracting behavior while behind the wheel, including feeding or petting the animals or even allowing them on their laps!

Distracted driving can lead to the kind of tragic car accidents that end in personal injury and wrongful death, so the AAA is taking this study very seriously. Their Foundation for Traffic Safety found that motorists who take their eyes off the road for even two seconds double their risk of a car accident.

"Restraining your pet when driving can not only help protect your pet, but you and other passengers in your vehicle as well," Lloyd P. Albert, AAA Southern New England senior vice president of public and government affairs, commented on the study. "An unrestrained 10-pound dog in a crash at 50 mph will exert roughly 500 pounds of pressure, while an unrestrained 80-pound dog in a crash at only 30 mph will exert 2,400 pounds of pressure. Imagine the devastation that can cause to your pet and to anyone in its path."

The biggest danger when riding with pets is leaving them free to go wherever they want in the car. And the danger is very, very commonplace - an overwhelming 83 percent of dog-owner drivers said they don't use any kind of pet restraint system. We make sure our children ride in either a child-safety seat or are buckled up - but most of us don't consider that option with a dog, which can be just as impulsive and undisciplined, if not more so.

Many manufacturers in recent years have created a variety of reasonably-priced and innovative products that help keep Fido from interfering with his master's driving; products that are easy for the owner to use and comfortable for the dog as well. AAA recommends that pet owners look into these kinds of products for usage even when taking their dogs on short trips in the neighborhood.

After all, nobody tells us not to buckle up just because we're only driving a few blocks to the mini-mart, do they?