(NOTE: Print letter on RAC or other entity’s letterhead)
Date
Name of Principal
Principal
Name of High School
Address
City, Texas ZIPcode
Dear Title Last Name:
Trauma Regional Advisory Council XX or Name of RAC is participating in the Texas EMS Trauma Acute Care Foundation’s statewide safe driving pledge drive. Please help us reduce distracted driving among our community’s teen drivers by supporting the “Just Drive” pledge drive during the week of Sept. 22. Distracted driving causes accidents that can result in death or life-long disabilities. In addition to raising awareness of distracted driving – which is much more than texting – Name of RAC wants to change behavior. Making a commitment to drive safely is a first step.
Name of RAC asks you to select a day during the week of Sept. 22 to hold the high school pledge drive. Name of RAC will provide you with pledge cards, messages and other tools to provide students, faculty and parents with information about distracted driving. Name of RAC is working with businesses and civic groups to make this a community-wide activity, and the participation of Name of High School is an important part of the initiative. Can we count on your support?
Specifically, Name of RAC is asking the high school to do the following:
- Post information about distracted driving and the “Just Drive” pledge drive on your website;
- Consider linking to the Just Drive website ( from your school’s website;
- Use the school’s social media accounts to facilitate a conversation among students, faculty and parents on the importance of safe driving and encourage everyone to take the pledge;
- Engage student leaders to play a leadership role in promoting safe driving behavior, perhaps having a competition between juniors and seniors;
- Secure one or more well-respected faculty members – maybe the football coach or beloved teacher – to be spokespeople for the campaign;
- Make announcements about the pledge drive frequently;
- Allow Name of RAC to make presentations (either an assembly or to specific classes) about distracted driving, including the showing of appropriate video clips; and
- Help maintain the focus on safe driving throughout the year as Name of RAC provides information throughout the year related to specific holidays and activities, like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, prom, graduation, etc.
Distracted driving is a serious issue within our communities, and especially among teen drivers. According to Teens in the Driver Seat®:
Crashes kill more young people than any other cause, accounting for nearly half of all teen deaths in America each year. Most teens and parents are unaware of the top five dangers of teen driving: driving at night; speeding and street racing; distractions, such as cell phones/texting and too many teen passengers; low seat belt use; and alcohol use.
More than 3,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes; that’s the equivalent of a commercial jet loaded with teenagers crashing once every other week for an entire year.
For every American teen killed in a car crash, about 100 more are injured. Every 15 minutes, another teenager becomes a statistic.
Alcohol is a factor in only 13 percent of the crashes involving the youngest drivers on the road.
Name of RAC is working to prevent automobile accidents, the leading cause of trauma center fatalities. This pledge drive is a great way to start a discussion regarding the issue of distracted driving. Many teenagers know that texting while driving is dangerous, but continue to do it. A sustained effort is needed to change behavior, and Name of RAC wants to work with you to get young drivers to practice safer driving behavior. The men and women who work as EMS and emergency room professionals see first-hand the results of distracted driving, and are very effective spokespeople about the consequences of careless driving behavior.
Please join Name of RACas we fight for the safety of these students as well as others on the road.
Sincerely,
Name
Title or Position
Name of RAC or Other Sponsor Entity