Buckle Up Your Pet for Safety? Not Such a Crazy Idea when Traveling With Your Pet in a Car Sleepypod Tests the Safety of its Pet Carrier Line in Simulated Crash Tests
Los Angeles, Calif.—March 30, 2009—Sleepypod today announces the results of testing their line of pet carriers, known as mobile pet beds, in simulated crash tests. The company hired JARI, Japan Automobile Research Institute, (http://www.jari.or.jp/en/) to test the crash- worthiness of its award-winning Sleepypod and Sleepypod Mini mobile pet carriers. The results? Current Sleepypod and Sleepypod Mini models withstood crashes of speeds up to 25 m.p.h. Videos of the simulated crash tests conducted on Sleepypod and Sleepypod Mini can be viewed at http://sleepypod.com/safety.
Tests were implemented in crashes at speeds of 20 m.p.h., 25 m.p.h., and 30 m.p.h. Currently, there is no legal standard for crash-worthiness of carriers or car restraint systems for pets. A likely analogy is the standard set for crash-worthiness of child safety seats. The current requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, which subjects child safety seats to the decelerations they would experience in a severe vehicle crash, is that all child safety seats manufactured for use in the United States must pass a 30 m.p.h. frontal crash test.
Sleepypod announces it will introduce in April models of their Sleepypod and Sleepypod Mini updated to withstand crashes greater than 25 m.p.h. The goal is to achieve the same standards of safety set for crashworthiness of child safety seats.
“Pets are important members of the family and that is why we want to make a safe product even safer by making its safety standard comply with a standard set for the most precious cargo known—a child,” says Melony Lee, one of Sleepypod’s three co-owners and product designers. “By doing this research we are able to constantly improve our products and ensure they are the safest pet carriers available,” says Greg Mote, another Sleepypod co-owner and product designer.
What is a mobile pet bed? A mobile pet bed is both a pet bed and a carrier. Sleepypod is unique to the market in that it is a pet bed consisting of ultra plush bedding surrounded by a luggage-grade ballistic nylon base that easily becomes a carrier by zipping a mesh dome around the base and attaching a shoulder strap. In a car, Sleepypod Mini becomes a safe car seat for a pet by securing a lap belt through a loop and a shoulder belt through the handle. Aboard an airplane, Sleepypod Mini fits comfortably under an airline seat. On the road and at your destination away from home, a pet remains in its own bed through the entire journey.
Stress Free Travel
Many cats and dogs associate travel with negative experiences such as a trip to the vet or kennel. Sleepypod allows a pet to travel safely in the comfort of its own bed, thereby reducing stress associated with travel because Sleepypod is already a trusted part of your pet’s life.
Four Seasons System of Accessories for Climate Control Sleepypod can be augmented with a four seasons system of accessories to include Air Mesh hammock bedding to help keep a pet cool in warmer climates, a plug-in Warmer unit that slips below the standard Ultra Plush bedding to help keep a pet warm in cooler climates, a car adaptor plug for the Warmer unit to add maximum travel comfort, and Cloudpuff pet blanket.
About Sleepypod
Sleepypod’s innovative products are designed by three pet-loving designers who strive to bring uncompromising style, comfort, and safety to pets at home and on-the-go. It is the creator of the multiple award-winning Sleepypod mobile pet bed. Awards and honors include: Metropolitan Home Design 100 (June 2008), Cat Fancy Editors’ Choice Award (October 2008 and December 2007), and Pet Product News Editors’ Choice Award (August 2007).
For more information about Sleepypod and any of its products designed to “baby your pet” contact Jane Skuta at (213) 341-1088, ext. 5. [email protected]
