Repeal of the Massachusetts seat belt law.

In November 1986, the Massachusetts mandatory seat belt use law was repealed in a referendum by a 53% to 47% vote. This paper explores why, if a majority of the public claimed to support it, the law was repealed a few months later. An important reason was that first supporters were more likely to change their minds then were opponents of the law. Also, those who were initially undecided were much more likely to vote against the law.