Policy Research and Child Passenger Safety Legislation: A Case Study and Experimental Evaluation

Car accidents are the leading cause of death for children over 1 year old. Successful attempts to enact child passenger safety legislation illustrate a potential role for public policy in reducing the risk of injury and death to children. This report describes the development and use of research information to influence decisions on child passenger safety bills before state legislatures in Kansas and Illinois. In a case study in Kansas and a controlled experiment in Illinois, data were presented to respective legislatures on direct observations about how often the problem occurs; also presented were ratings on the importance of child passenger safety and the social acceptability of government regulation in this area. This research study examines the implications of using psychological research methods to influence policy formulation and the enactment of social legislation.