Few people realize that pets in vehicles are a legitimate safety issue that is overdue for real solutions. Which is why Volvo is now working with a pet-safety advocacy group to explore new ways to keep drivers' four-legged companions safe on long-haul road trips. 

From its inception, safety has been a core, unwavering principle at Volvo. For decades the Swedish OEM has been advocating for, and introducing vehicles, systems and products that offer protection for both drivers and passengers in the vehicles it builds.

And that commitment doesn’t end with the human occupants of Volvo trucks. 

At the Volvo Trucks Customer Center, adjacent to the Volvo Trucks Manufacturing Plant in New River Valley, Virginia, Chris Stadler, marketing manager for long-haul trucks, noted that more than 60% of all truck drivers are pet owners and nearly 40% bring their pets on the road.

Drivers Love Their Pets

Heavy Duty Trucking was at the Volvo Trucks Customer Center for a year-end press event introducing the OEM’s new partnership with the Center for Pet Safety. 

Together, Volvo and the Center for Pet Safety are introducing a new line of pet restraint systems designed to keep pets safe inside the cab of Class 8 long-haul trucks.

The Center for Pet Safety (CPS) is a U.S.-based nonprofit research and advocacy organization. 

Its mission is focused on improving the safety of pet products and pet travel through scientific research, testing, standards development, and consumer education.

According to Stadler, Volvo Trucks North America is partnering with the Center for Pet Safety to promote safer, more comfortable travel for commercial drivers and their four-legged companions.

According to Stadler, last year’s launch of the new, Class 8 VNL tractor planted the seed that eventually blossomed into a partnership with the Center for Pet Safety.

“We did a lot of driver clinics when we were preparing to launch the VNL,” Stadler recalled. “We talked to drivers at truck stops and in focus groups. And one thing they told us over and over again was their need and desire to have their beloved animals be safe and comfortable with them on the road.”

Drivers are often traveling with pets for days or even weeks at time, Stadler added. 

“For many professional drivers, traveling with a pet is part of the lifestyle offering comfort, companionship, and a sense of home on every route,” he said. “This new collaboration with the Center for Pet Safety aims to help drivers make informed choices to keep their pets safe and relaxed while on the road.”

A Pet-Safe VNL

As part of the collaboration, experts from the Center for Pet Safety visited the Volvo Customer Center in Dublin, Virginia.

There, they met with Volvo design engineers to review the new Volvo VNL with an eye toward improving pet safety inside the truck’s cab.

Pet safety specialists experience the VNL’s driver comfort, safety features, and interior layouts firsthand. 

That’s crucial for drivers who travel with animals and may need to leave them in the cab during short breaks under any weather conditions, according to Lindsey Wolko, founder of the Center for Pet Safety.

But Wolko, noted, few people realize that pets in vehicles are a legitimate safety issue that is overdue for real solutions.

“Pets can distract drivers, which increases the risk of a collision,” Wolko noted. “They can become dangerous projectiles that are known as backseat bullets if you have a crash.”

Moreover, Wolko said, pet travel products are such a new concept that they have no regulatory oversight. 

“There are no requirements as to the products being sold to protect people or the pets,” she explained. “And they are often marketed with unverified claims of safety or crash protection.”

This is why Wolko and Dr. Jim Funk, a bio-mechanical engineer, were visiting the Volvo Visitor Center.

“We're working with Volvo engineers to identify secure, strength-rated anchor points inside the VNL cab,” she said. “Our goal is to support Center for Pet Safety-certified products that drivers can use. These are things like harnesses, crates, and carriers that pet owners will purchase and use in a truck. And we want to ensure that these products are safe options for pet owners.”

Another focal point is the Volvo Parking Cooler and other systems that maintain optimal in-cab conditions for both drivers and pets.

“We're testing Volvo's Parking Cooler because having a climate-controlled environment for your pet is critical for long-haul drivers,” Wolko said. “Because they may need to leave the cab to take care of personal business, have dinner, take a shower, those types of things, and we want to make sure that that climate control remains consistent and that the parking cooler will provide heat and air conditioning as needed.”

Once the evaluations are complete, the Center for Pet Safety will recommend pet-friendly updates to Volvo Trucks.

Additionally, as part of the initiative, Volvo Trucks and the Center for Pet Safety will co-develop a digital resource about traveling safely with pets in a commercial vehicle, set to launch on both organizations’ websites in early 2026., it was a cold, gray day with snow falling, we met Theo,

Theo’s a Good Boy

Out on the test-track it was a cold, gray day with snow falling we met Theo – a beautiful Golden Doodle who is a member of Will Bender’s family. Will is the digital marketing manager for Volvo Trucks North America.

And unlike the wild, four-legged heathens who terrorize my house, Theo is a good boy!

He helped his Dad and Volvo out by demonstrating some of the new safety systems the OEM and the Center for Pet Safety are working on.

Theo was polite, calm and well-mannered. He sat patiently while the various engineers strapped into a specialized pet harness in the passenger seat of a new VNL tractor. 

Theo didn’t run hog-ass-wild, chasing deer all around the test track… 

He didn’t jump on every person he saw… 

He didn’t pee all over anyone’s backpack left on the ground… 

He didn’t steal anyone’s food… 

He didn’t bark his head off every time a truck went by… 

He didn’t puke in the cab of the truck… 

He didn’t play tug-o-war with the blanket on the mattress in the sleeper berth… 

He didn’t…

Sorry. I got a bit distracted there by how well-mannered Theo was…

Anyway, we took off for a run around the track with Bobby Compton, the newly promoted manager of the Volvo Customer Center at the VNL’s wheel.

Theo was strapped in the passenger seat with Center for Pet Safety-approved safety harness. 

The system used the VNL’s seatbelt as its foundation, of course. But the harness allowed him to move around, sit up, or lie down whenever he liked. He seemed very comfortable wearing it.

Of course, Bobby was driving the truck safely. So, Theo got bored pretty quickly and decided he’d settle in for a nap in the nice, warm, heated seat.

Once again, Volvo is ahead of the curve when it comes to safety inside its vehicles. And drivers who take their pets with them on the road will no doubt be interested in the new products and safety features this new partnership brings forth in the future.