Distracting Driving Video-Critical for Students
A new video on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) website created by Springfield, Pa. (Delaware County) resident Joel Feldman -- whose 21-year old daughter Casey was struck and killed in N.J. in 2009 by a driver who took his eyes off the road for seconds to grab an iced tea -- is a powerful, tragic example of how distracted driving is more than just texting.
The video, including testimonials from Casey’s mother and her friends talking about how they drove distracted, and have changed their habits after the 21-year old’s death, is the first produced by a member of the public in the DOT’s series on distracted driving.
Feldman decided to create the video after watching others posted on the DOT’s site. “I saw the videos and I was moved by them. They addressed cell phone use and texting. While that's a portion of distracted driving, it's not the whole story," said Feldman, a prominent Philadelphia trial attorney at personal injury law firm Anapol Schwartz. With his wife Dianne, Feldman helped get a N.J. pedestrian safety law changed for the first time in 50 years.
In 2009, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 injured in the U.S. due to distracted driving, which can involve anything that diverts attention from the road –texting and checking your PDA, eating, drinking, talking, adjusting the radio, reaching for your bag, etc.
