America has struggled for 30 years to resolve controversy about the use of occupant restraint systems in motor vehicles. The book uses the differing perspectives of conflicting interests, democratic pluralism, to explain why it was so difficult to resolve the dispute and how the breakthrough toward resolution was ultimately achieved. Principles governing policymaking and corporate influences are explained and insights are provided for policymakers, corporate executives, lobbyists, consumer activists, attorneys and judges, and legislators who are participants in regulatory processes.

America has struggled for thirty years to resolve controversy about the use of occupant restraint systems in motor vehicles. The book uses the differing perspectives of conflicting interests, democratic pluralism, to explain why it was so difficult to resolve the dispute and how the breakthrough toward resolution was ultimately achieved. Principles governing policymaking and corporate influences are explained and insights are provided for policymakers, corporate executives, lobbyists, consumer activists, attorneys and judges, and legislators who are participants in regulatory processes.

JOHN D. GRAHAM is Associate Professor of Policy and Decision Sciences at the Harvard School of Public Health and Deputy Director of the New England Injury Prevention Research Center.