You indicated on a survey that you would be willing to write a letter to the editor and I would like to take you up on that offer. I would like you to send a letter to the Sioux City Journal thanking Senator Jackie Smith for the work on the distracted driving bill that passed the legislature.
You can submit a letter to the editor in three easy steps:
1. Edit the sample letter below or write your own.
2. Submit the letter to the Sioux City Journal (https://siouxcityjournal.com/forms/contact/letter_to_the_editor/)
3. Reply to this email and let me know you’ve submitted the letter so we can watch for it and post it on social media.
Thank you in advance. I am grateful for advocates like you who take action. This grassroots support is what gets things done in the legislature.
Keep moving forward,
Mark Wyatt
Iowa Bicycle Coalition
***SAMPLE LETTER BELOW***
The bill adding distracted driving to driver’s education (HF380) was brought forward this legislative session by the Iowa Bicycle Coalition. Before this bill was passed, students were required to have four or more hours of instruction on substance abuse. This bill changed that language to include both substance abuse and distracted driving.
We want to thank Senator Jackie Smith on behalf of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition for working diligently on this bill throughout the session. The class time previously just spent on substance abuse is now shared with distracted driving. The most significant proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of fatal crashes were 15 to 19 years old. Senator Smith understood this risk and her hard work on House File 380 helped ensure it was signed by the Governor this year.
