End Distracted Driving: For Parents and Teens
Source/Author: Kathleen Newton, Upper School Health Teacher
August 28, 2015
When Joel Feldman’s 21-year-old daughter, Casey, was struck and killed by a distracted driver in July 2009 as she was crossing the street in a crosswalk, he never imagined he would parlay what he describes as “telling a sad story,” into an interactive and impactful presentation that is changing teens’ attitudes and behaviors about distracted driving.
Thanks to our Upper School SADD Club, Joel is coming to Shorecrest Preparatory School in St Petersburg, Florida, to present his End Distracted Driving Student Awareness Initiative (EndDD), sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation, to parents in the community and Upper School students.
Thursday, Sept 10 at 7-8pm in the SAC for parents.
Friday, Sept 11 at 9:55-10:55am in the JRT for students, with some room for parents in the back of the theatre.
Using an interactive presentation developed by pediatricians, behavior change experts and teen messaging experts from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he has spoken with more than 50,000 teens across the country. The presentation engages teens and empowers them to make safer driving decisions.
Linda Fryoux Harvison, former Principal of St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge, said, “You certainly understand how to reach teenage audiences. Your honesty in admitting that you were once a distracted driver made your message very real to our girls. The use of videos and role-play activities was highly effective, and your suggestions for talking with parents and other distracted drivers empowered our students to take their personal safety, as well as that of the driver, into their own hands.”
The Governors Highway Safety Association commends the program by stating:
“When teens learn first-hand the facts and consequences of distracted driving, they’re more likely to make positive choices that are long-lasting.”
Learn more at http://www.enddd.org. Download a flyer here. Thanks to corporate sponsors like Power Design there is no charge for the presentation.
