CPS WEEK PLANNER

SAMPLE LETTER TO EDITOR

313 WORDS

Dear Editor:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 7,500 lives have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 20 years. Yet, motor vehicle crashes still remain the number one killer of children ages 4 to 14 in America. The reason? Too often it is the improper use or non-use of child safety seats and booster seats.

That’s why [Local Leader/Organization] is joining with NHTSA and other state and local leaders around Valentine’s Day this year to commemorate Child Passenger Safety Week (Feb. 11-17).

[Optional paragraph]: On Sunday, February 11, 2007, local community, state and national leaders will kick-off the week with the first-ever National Seat Check Sunday in an effort to educate parents and to ensure that all child safety seats are installed properly. [Community name] will have certified child passenger safety technicians providing free safety seat inspections from [time] at [location].

While 98 percent of America’s infants and 93 percent of children ages 1 to 3 are regularly restrained, not enough children ages 4 through 7 are restrained properly for their size and age. Only 10 to 20 percent of children ages 4 through 7 who should be using booster seats to protect them are actually in them. But children ages 4 to 8 who are placed in booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a car crash than children who are restrained only by a seat belt, according to a study by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).

What better way to show that you love your children on Valentine’s Day than to make sure they are secured properly? Make it the law in your cars - it might actually save your children’s lives.

For more information about [National Seat Check Sunday,] Child Passenger Safety Week and the proper use of booster seats, please visit www.BoosterSeat.gov, www.SaferCar.gov or www.SeatCheck.org.

Name, address and phone number. (The newspaper must have these to verify the identity of the sender, but won’t print the street address or phone number.)

###