Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Final Essay Paper

This is a continuation and synthesis of parts I and II of Car Seat Safety Policy. A 2-page issue brief summarizing and synthesizing the key points in papers 1 and 2 (see attachments).
Please use these headings:
• What is the aim of the policy brief?
• What is the best hook for the audience?
• What background information does the audience need?
• What data are most important to include for your audience? How will you convey the data to your stakeholders (i.e. combination of in-text, bar graph, etc.)?
• What are the policy options?
• What are your recommendations?
IV. To summarize, please note that short policy briefs are useful tools to conveying research and scientific implications for policy development and implementation and clinical practice. Writing effective policy briefs requires a specific set of communication and collaboration skills.

Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Final

• What is the aim of the policy brief?

The aim of this policy brief is to argue for policy changes that that mandate that backward-facing car seats be used by small children less than two years of age in cars with a focus on improving child safety. There is an acknowledged concern that cars present a safety concern for children, especially in collisions that apply kinetic force to the fragile body of child occupants. Forward-facing car seats have been shown to be effective for children older than two years of age, but less effective protections for their younger counterparts. Car seats are designed differently to account for the child’s developmental needs, size, and age. Backward-facing car seats are shown, in experiments, to be safer for children less than two years of age. (Linnard-Palmar, 2016). The proposed change requires that all drivers all drivers have car seats installed for children’s targeted age groups with a focus on ensuring that children less than two years of age have backward-facing car seats. The proposed policy has the advantage of improving child safety when traveling as the child is better protected if facing the back during a front-end crash. With increasing concerns about child safety in cars, the improved safety from using backward-facing car seats makes a good argument for the legislative change (Linnard-Palmar, 2016). Through presenting the policy changes, drivers would be compelled to use backward facing car seats thereby ensuring the safety of child passengers.

• What is the best hook for the audience?

The best hook for the audience is the awareness that cars are necessary for transport activities, but car collisions are a threat to child safety. Car accidents continue to be a threat to children’s safety, despite car seat safety policies being implemented as a primary countermeasure for reducing the risk for injury. Still, there is a concern that many parents do not use car safety seats (Weaver, Brixey, Williams, & Nansel, 2012). Also, the parents who use car safety seats mainly use the forward-facing car seats that are less safe than backward-facing car seats. The concern is most significant among children less than two years of age who have structurally fragile bones with a high possibility of spinal cord injury and paralysis if a small force is placed on these bones even when using the front-facing car seats (Krisch, 2020).

• What background information does the audience need?

The background information needed by the audience is the relevance of car seat safety. Car accidents are considered a leading cause of death among children. During a car accident, a tremendous amount of force is exerted on the child’s body during such events. Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Final Essay Paper  The result has been one in ten children (fourteen years of age or younger) dying every day from a car accident. Unlike adults, children’s bodies are structurally different and fragile; an impact from a motor vehicle accident can end up causing the child life-threatening injuries (Brolin et al., 2015). These car accidents that resulted in a child’s death has resulted in policies mandated that children be placed in car seats. However, there are no distinctions on when forward-facing and backward-facing car seats should be used. The argument presented for backward-facing car seats is that serious accidents rarely occur at the back of the car, with most car crashes either occurring at the side or front of the care (Krisch, 2020). Approximately 70% of accidents happen at the side or front of the car. In a front-end car collision, a child in a forward-facing car seat snaps forwards toward the point of impact but is restrained by the car seat, although there is a likelihood of the restraints acting on the child and causing injuries. Still, a child in a backward-facing seat would fall back towards the front of the car and be cushioned by the car seat. This concern is most significant for children under two years of age since their bones are fragile, with a high possibility of spinal cord injury and paralysis if a small force is placed on these delicate bones. Given that most accidents occur at the front of the car, then using a backward-facing car seat presents a safer option. As the child would not snap forward into a harness as would be the case with the forward-facing seat, and would instead snap back into the car seat where the forces are diffused along the larger areas of the car seat (Krisch, 2020).

• What data are most important to include for your audience? How will you convey the data to your stakeholders (i.e. combination of in-text, bar graph, etc.)?
  

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of death among children, mentioning that 33% of the children who died in car crashes were either not using car seats or were misusing them. The campaign also says that using car seats reduces the risk of death by 54% among children between one and four years of age, and 71% among children less than one year of age. Given this awareness, the campaign recommends that all children use car sears with those less than two years of age using backward facing car seats. In contrast, those older than two years using the front-facing car seats until the seat belt fits them properly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

• What are the policy options?

The policy option is to develop new legislation that specifies the need for all children less than two years of age using backward-facing car seats. The current legislative issue is that the appropriate car seat designs for the different ages are not specified. Yet, there is scientific evidence supporting the use of specific car seat designs for the various child ages. The proposal is presented for a policy change mandating backward-facing car seats for children less than two years of age to provide greater safety in case of a car collision occurring. A review of current legislation reveals that only 36 states and the District of Columbia have child passenger restraint laws. This implies that 14 states do not have child passenger restraint laws. By enacting new legislation at the federal level to apply to all the states in the United States of America, it would be possible to improve child safety. The proposed legislation would require that children travel in age- and size-appropriate seats until they can properly use the seat belt. As such, other than specifying that all children less than two years of age to use backward-facing seats, children older than two years of age would use forward-facing seats until they can use the seat belts (US Department of Transportation, 2015).

• What are your recommendations?

The recommendation is that new policy should be presented that mandates the use of backward-facing car seats for children less than two years of age to provide greater safety in case of a car collision occurring. The present legislation does not specify the appropriate car seat designs for the different ages, and yet there is scientific evidence supporting using of specific car seat designs for the different child ages. Towards this end, the legislative change is proposed to mandate backward-facing car seats among children less than two years of age. The proposal is justified that about 70% of car accidents involve front collisions, and backward-facing car seats provide greater protection to the children when in such situations compared to forward-facing car seats.

Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Part II

Car accidents continue to be a threat to children’s safety, despite car seat safety policies being implemented as a primary countermeasure for reducing the risk for injury. Still, there is a concern that many parents do not use car safety seats (Weaver, Brixey, Williams, & Nansel, 2012). Also, the parents who use car safety seats mainly use the forward-facing car seats that are less safe than backward-facing car seats. The concern is most significant among children less than two years of age who have structurally fragile bones with a high possibility of spinal cord injury and paralysis if a small force is placed on these bones even when using the front-facing car seats (Krisch, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to describe approaches applied to advocates for a backward-facing car seat safety policy at the United States of America federal level. The aim is to explore critical influences on policy development, particularly those related to soliciting the appropriate legislative support.

Health Campaigns

The two health campaigns advocating for car safety seats are the car seat education and enforcement campaign managed by County Health Ranking & Roadmaps; and the car passenger safety campaign organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). First, the car seat education & enforcement campaign uses targeted information about the importance of car seats, proper use, and existing laws and enforcement to argue for car seat use. The campaign specifically makes use of public education and information and other publicity efforts. The campaign efforts are intended to complement the existing laws on car seats, noting that community-wide information and enhanced enforcement would increase car seat use. As a result of the campaign, there has been increased use of car seats (Country Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 2016). The CDC manages the Child Passenger Safety campaign under the Gateway to Health Communication program. The campaign identifies motor vehicle accidents as a leading cause of death among children, mentioning that 33% of the children who died in car crashes were either not using car seats or were misusing them. The campaign also says that using car seats reduces the risk of death by 54% among children between one and four years of age, and 71% among children less than one year of age. Given this awareness, the campaign recommends that all children use car sears with those less than two years of age using backward facing car seats. In contrast, those older than two years using the front-facing car seats until the seat belt fits them properly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

Examining the Plan for Car Seat Safety

The plan drafted in paper one could be enacted by developing new legislation. The current legislation issue is that it does not specify the appropriate car seat designs for the different ages. Yet, there is scientific evidence supporting the use of specific car seat designs for the various child ages. The proposal is presented for a policy change mandating backward-facing car seats for children less than two years of age to provide greater safety in case of a car collision occurring. A review of current legislation reveals that only 36 states and the District of Columbia have child passenger restraint laws. This implies that 14 states do not have child passenger restraint laws. By enacting new legislation at the federal level to apply to all the states in the United States of America, it would be possible to improve child safety. The proposed legislation would require that children travel in age- and size-appropriate seats until they can properly use the seat belt. As such, other than specifying that all children less than two years of age to use backward-facing seats, children older than two years of age would use forward-facing seats until they can use the seat belts (US Department of Transportation, 2015).

Methods used to Influence Legislators

Also, to achieve the legislative advocacy goal, there is a need to get legislators’ support. A stepwise approach based on direct advocacy has been identified for achieving this objective. The first step is to identify the legislators sympathetic to the issues and views presented in the proposed legislation and who are willing to work collaboratively to have it enacted. These supportive legislators would assist in advocacy efforts to widen the support network by recommending other legislative who are likely to support the proposed legislation if approached to do so. The second step is to identify and interact with the legislators who opposed the legislation and have views that vary from those who support the legislation. These opposing legislators will be able to voice the opposing arguments to the advocacy goal. They would be presented with the counterarguments to show that the proposed legislation offers more significant benefits than cost. Even if these opposing legislators cannot be made to wholeheartedly support the proposed bill, they may be convinced to support part of the proposed legislation (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & O’Grady, 2016). Other than the two-step approach applied in direct lobbying to influence legislators, indirect lobbying would be applied. This would raise awareness about the proposed legislation in the general population to influence the legislative process. Once the general public is aware of the issue and proposed legislation, they are expected to contact their legislators concerning the topic. As such, indirect lobbying is unique because it involves stimulating the politics of interest groups (Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, & O’Grady, 2016).

Conclusion

Car accidents have been identified as a source of concern owing to the threat that children face. Also, car safety seats have been identified as an important safety feature to ensure that children’s structurally fragile bones are protected during accidents. Two campaigns (car seat education and enforcement campaign and car passenger safety campaign) have sought to address this concern by advocating for the use of car seats. In the end, the proposal is made to enact new legislation at the federal level to have all children using car sears for those children less than two years of age using backward facing car seats while those older than two years using the front-facing car seats until the seat belt fits them properly. Support from legislators for the proposed legislation would be sought through direct and indirect advocacy.

Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Final Essay Paper