THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 7, 1995 TAG: 9511070016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Regarding ``Child protector'' (letter, Oct. 16) about requiring bicycle helmets: Aldree T. Tylor, chairperson of the Transportation Safety Commission, missed the point.
How do you pass another law without giving the government more control? How do you pass another law that has to be enforced by police without giving police officials more work? How do you tell parents you have placed a requirement on their children without telling them how to raise their children? How do you tell parents they are required to purchase an item for their children without inflicting an additional financial burden on the parents?
I absolutely support the use of any safety equipment that will protect our children. I support any person on any safety commission who is promoting safety equipment. I only hope that the person would promote the idea of taking the money that would have been spent enacting and enforcing, and spend it properly on education and promotion.
I have taught my children to the best of my abilities and am doing my best to provide a good example for them to follow. My responsibility ends there. I cannot dictate how they will turn out or whether they will go against my teaching and injure themselves.
JERRY LIPHAM
Chesapeake, Oct. 19, 1995 by CNB