I hope this letter is well received.  I am writing to ask for your assistance in protecting the children of our neighborhood.

            Now that the weather is warm, the children are anxious to play outdoors.  They love to run up and down the sidewalk, ride their bikes, pull their wagons and push their baby doll strollers.  Unfortunately, no matter how well behaved they might be or how much we try to teach them about safety, children are impulsive and unpredictable, and have little understanding of the  danger of a moving vehicle.    

            Each year, approximately two thousand children in the United States are treated in emergency departments because they were struck or rolled over by a vehicle moving in reverse. More than thirty children have already been killed by backing vehicles this year, and summer has not yet arrived.  All drivers should be acutely aware of this danger.   For more information, please visit www.kidsandcars.org,

            It is impossible to imagine anything more tragic than the death or catastrophic injury of a child that could easily have been prevented.  As trite as this sounds, I ask that you please use extreme caution whenever backing your vehicle out of your driveway, and remind your guests to do so as well.  Share this letter with all drivers in your household, as well as your friends and family.  If necessary, trim any landscaping around your driveway to ensure that you can see the sidewalk, and any approaching pedestrians, clearly when backing out of your driveway.

            Thank you for your attention to this important matter. 

            Jennifer Drasner, Worlington Drive, Signature II