Britney's pooch can stay on her lap! Hooray!

Oops! I was wrong in my previous post. Turns out that ONLY dogs being carried in pickup trucks have to be restrained, according to California law. And they get off too, if they're "working" or farm dogs.

So, unless Britney Spears trades in her fancy car for a big old pickup, she's legally permitted to drive with her tiny Yorkie in her lap. It's still dangerous and dumb. Just like eating a burger, applying eyeliner, talking on your cell or texting your BFF. It's called Driving While Distracted, or DWD. But it's not breaking the law. Yet. Although it soon may be if more comprehensive DWD laws are signed and enforced.

Having an object, even an animal, moving inside a moving car is considered a major cause of DWD. Along with cell phones, adjusting the radio or climate controls, smoking, eating, etc. But don't trust me. Check out the DMV site and follow their link to the AAA tips/information on DWD.

So if anything were to happen -- an accident, running over someone's foot or running a red light -- and Britney was pulled over and it was discovered that there was an animal loose in the car, there just might be problems.

Hey, I'm just saying.

Here's my all-too-true confession: I was stopped two years ago, driving the speed limit on Robertson Boulevard, by a Beverly Hills motorcycle cop who told me that he could give me a ticket for driving with my small dog (he'd seen her fluffy head, darn it!) on my lap. He said it would be a driving-while-distracted violation. I got off with a warning. And I quickly got a back-seat pet carrier with a harness.

My dog is safer and I don't have to worry about DWD. Thanks, Mr. Policeman.