Car Seat Safety Policy Discussion Paper

This paper is a continuation of order #224140. Car Seat Safety. You will identify and compare at least two health campaigns that provide potential solutions and advocacy efforts about your health care issue. In addition, you will examine and explain if your plan could be enacted via a modification of existing law or regulation or potentially the development of a new legislation. Lastly, discuss the methods you would use to influence legislators to support your plan, including how you would address opposition to your plan.

Format:
I. Introduction (including purpose statement)

II. Identify and compare at least two health campaigns that addresses solutions, interventions, and advocacy efforts about your health campaign. If you are unable to identify a second health campaign, you may reference a proposed bill and discuss implications. Also, you may discuss the demographics that are positively or negatively impacted, the costs of different options, funding mechanisms, etc.

III. Examine and explain if the plan you drafted in paper I could be enacted via a modification of existing law or regulation OR potentially the development of a new legislation. If you are proposing to modify existing laws or regulations, make sure to include in-text citations as well as referencing the source. If you are proposing the development of new legislation, what should be included in the bill? Be specific and cogent.

IV. Discuss the methods you would use to influence legislators to support your plan. Also, discuss how you would address the opposition. For instance, one of the disadvantages of your plan is that it may be too expensive to implement. That said, you may acknowledge that but also you may explain why it is worth the investment. If so, make sure to list your reasons.  Car Seat Safety Policy Discussion Paper

V. Conclusion

Car Seat Safety Policy Brief Part II

1. Introduction

Car accidents continue to be a threat to the safety of children. That is despite car seat safety policies being implemented as a central countermeasure for reducing the risk for injury. Still, there is a concern that many parents do not use car safety seats (Weaver et al., 2013). In addition, the parents who use car safety seats mainly use the forward facing care seats that are less safe than backward facing care seats. The concern is greatest 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 front facing car seats (Krisch, 2020). The present paper describes approaches that will be applied to advocate for a backward facing car seat safety policy at the federal level in the USA. The aim is to explore critical influences on the policy development, particularly those related to soliciting the appropriate legislative support.

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1. Identify and compare at least two health campaigns that addresses solutions, interventions, and advocacy efforts about your health campaign.

The two health campaigns advocating for car safety seats are: car seat education and enforcement campaign managed by County Health Ranking & Roadmaps; and car passenger safety campaign managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Firstly, the car seat education & enforcement campaign makes use of targeted information about the importance of car seats, proper use and existing laws as well as enforcements 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 Child Passenger Safety campaign is managed by the CDC 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 using the inappropriately. In addition, the campaign mentions 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 should use car sears with those less than two years of age using backward facing car seats while those older than 2 years using front facing car seats until the seat belt fits them properly (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

III. Examine and explain if the plan you drafted in paper I could be enacted via a modification of existing law or regulation OR potentially the development of a new legislation.

The plan drafted in paper 1 could be enacted by developing new legislation. The issue with the current legislation is that it does not specify the appropriate car seat designs for the different ages, and yet there is scientific evidence supporting the use of specific car seat designs for the different child ages. The proposal is presented for a policy change mandating 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. 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 USA, it would be possible to improve child safety. The proposed legislation would require that children travel in age- and size appropriate seats until they are able to 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 are able to use the seat belts (US Department of Transportation, 2015).

1. Discuss the methods you would use to influence legislators to support your plan.

In addition to achieve the legislative advocacy goal, there is a need to get the support of legislators. A step-wise approach based on direct advocacy has been identified for achieving this objective. The first step is to identify the legislators who are sympathetic to the issues and views presented in the proposed legislation, and are willing to work collaboratively to have it enacted. These supportive legislators would assist in advocacy efforts to widen the network of supporters by recommending other legislatives 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 presents greater benefits that costs. Even if these opposing legislators cannot be made to wholeheartedly support the proposed legislation, they may be convinced to support part of the proposed legislation (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee, 2014). Other than the two step approach applied in direct lobbying to influence legislators, indirect lobbying would be applied. This would focus on raising awareness about the proposed legislation in the general population with the intention of influencing the legislative process. Once the general public is aware of the issue and proposed legislation, they are expected to contact their legislators concerning the issue. As such, the indirect lobbying is unique because involves stimulating the politics of interest groups (Mason, Leavitt & Chaffee, 2014).

1. Conclusion

Car accidents have been identified as a source of concern owing to the threat that children face. In addition, car safety seats have been identified as an important safety feature to ensuring that the structurally fragile bones of children 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. Towards this end, the proposal is made to enact new legislation at the federal level to have all children should use car sears with those less than two years of age using backward facing car seats while those older than 2 years using front facing car seats until the seat belt fits them properly. Support from legislators for the proposed legislation would sought through direct and indirect advocacy.

Car Seat Safety

Car are moving machines considered necessary in today’s world to help with locomotion purposes. However, like other machines, cars similarly present the potential for accidents due to mechanical problems with the vehicle, driver error, or external factors outside the vehicle. Of great concern is collisions that apply kinetic force on the car occupants causing them to be thrown around when the car stops unexpectedly following a crash. The most significant problem is among children most affected by collision accidents, whereby they are either injured or killed. Car seats are designed differently to account for the child’s developmental needs, size, and age. However, the concern is that not all children are not correctly fitted in car seats, thereby presenting child safety concerns (Linnard-Palmar, 2016). The purpose of this paper is to make an argument for policy changes 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.

Car Seat Safety Relevance

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. 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).

Potential Stakeholders

The issue of car seats and child safety in cars is of concern to three groups of stakeholders. First, it concerns parents who seek to improve their children’s safety when traveling in automobiles. The presence of safer car seats provides more assurance that their children will survive with fewer injuries if an accident occurs. Second, it is of concern to car seat manufacturers as it has marketing implications. The presence of a policy mandating the use of a specific car seat design implies that manufacturers who produce that design have more significant business opportunities. Lastly, it is of concern to public health as it determines the cost of resources necessary to provide care for children involved in car accidents. Children with fewer injuries will require fewer medical care that those with more injuries (Zaccagnini & White, 2017).

Car Safety Enacted in Legislation

Senate Bill S.1411, presented by Sen. Barry Finegold of the District of Second Essex and Middlesex in the State of Massachusetts, sought to introduce legislation requiring rear-facing car seats for children less than two years of age or weighing less than 30 pounds. The legislation is intended for use in the State of Massachusetts. The bill makes it clear that only children who have outgrown backward-facing seats by weight or age would be permitted to use forward-facing car seats. The bill’s proponents argue that the current legislation is not strong enough as there is scientific evidence to show that backward-facing seats are safer than forward-facing seats for children. Yet this evidence has not been adopted in legislation (Lannan, 2019). They further explain that fourteen states have adopted similar legislation with favorable results. It would be prudent for the State of Massachusetts to adopt the same legislation to improve child safety. The current state laws mandate that all children less than eight years of age must use a car seat unless they are taller than 57 inches, but it does not specify the type of car seat. The argument is presented that a backward-facing car seat provides much more protection for a child’s spine, neck, and head during a forward car collision with the car seat, absorbing much of the crash forces. The proposed bill has received support from the Boston Children’s Hospital staff and AAA Northeast, who presented testimony supporting the bill to the state Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee (State House News Service, 2019).

Policy Brief

The legislation mandate requires all parents to have car seats installed for children’s targeted age groups. This 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. Still, the legislation may present disadvantages. Children who are facing backward when other passengers are facing forward are likely to be uncorporative and disruptive. Besides that, they would be miserable from the monotonous scene. Additionally, they are likely to experience carsickness. 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).

Conclusion

We must accept that child safety presents an issue of concern with the use of cars. Also, we must acknowledge that legislative attempts have been made to address the matter by mandating car seats. However, their issue is that the 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. The proposal is presented for a policy change mandating 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.

References

Brolin, K., Stockman, I., Andersson, M., Bohman, K., Gras, L., & Jakobsson, L. (2015). Safety of children in cars: A review of biomechanical aspects and human body models. IATSS Research, 38(2), 92-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iatssr.2014.09.001

Krisch, J. (2020). The reassuring physics of the rear-facing car seat. https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/physics-rear-facing-car-seats-kids/

Lannan, K. (2019). Bill requires rear-facing car seat for youngest passengers. https://www.masslive.com/politics/2019/12/bill-requires-rear-facing-car-seat-for-youngest-passengers.html

Linnard-Palmar, L., & Coats, G. (2016). Safe maternity and pediatric nursing care. F. A. Davis.

State House News Service (2019). Bill requires rear-facing car seat for youngest passengers. https://www.wcvb.com/article/bill-requires-rear-facing-car-seat-for-youngest-passengers/30280430

Zaccagnini, M., & White, K. (Eds.) (2017). The doctor of nursing practice essentials: A new model for advanced practice nursing (3^rd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.  Car Seat Safety Policy Discussion Paper