Abstract
A major component of government policy to improve road safety in Canada is the regulation of new motor vehicle performance under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The Act empowers the federal government to issue regulations which must be met by all vehicles manufactured for sale in Canada or imported in the country. This paper described the process of evaluation necessary to identify the effectiveness of proposed regulations, and illustrates the state of the art in Canada, by examining the case of a proposed regulation to require automatic restraint devices.