Thousands of car accidents each year are believed to be caused by unrestrained pets experts say. However, only the state of Hawaii has a law that prohibits drivers from driving with a pet on their lap. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calculates that in 2009, 5,474 people were killed and 448,000 people were injured by distracted drivers in the United States. Cell phones are considered the top distraction but not the only distraction. Children and pets are also considered to be a major distraction for drivers. Author Stephen King suffered several broken bones as a result of being hit by a driver who claims that he was distracted by his dog. The Chicago personal injury attorneys of Zneimer & Zneimer PC have handled one case where the driver who rear-ended our client was distracted by a Great Dane dog that he had unrestrained in the back seat of his car.