Casey’s Father, Joel Feldman and Dr. Robert Barroco Discuss Distracted Driving on Allentown TV News
Joel Feldman and Casey at the Radnor Hunt Races in May 2009
Casey Feldman’s father, Joel Feldman, and Robert Barraco, M.D. a trauma surgeon at Allentown, PA’s Lehigh Valley Hospital, were interviewed for a TV segment on distracted driving by reporter Eve Tannery of WFMZ 69.
Joel Feldman produced a public service video for the US Dept of Transportation that features his daughter’s friends and his wife. Mr Feldman produced the video hoping that by telling Casey’s story others would see firsthand the senseless tragedy of distracted driving and the toll that it is taking. Mr Feldman hopes that people will change their driving habits as a result of watching the video. Mr. Feldman and Casey’s friends all drove while distracted before Casey’s death but have now made driving a priority and have eliminated “multi-tasking.”
Mr Feldman said that “driving is the single most potentially dangerous thing that each of us does on a daily basis” and that “we have become so comfortable in our cars that we ignore the risks of driving while distracted”. He said that all the drivers who have killed others while driving distracted thought they would never hurt someone just like we think each time we eat in the car, dial a cell phone or reach for something in the back seat. Mr. Feldman stated that there has been a tremendous response to the video; it is being played in schools and he receives e-mails from those who have watched it who have changed the way they drive as a result.
Dr. Barraco talked about what he sees when victims are brought to him in the operating room. He also cited statistics about how dangerous distracted driving was, particularly for young people when they have multiple passengers in their cars. He and his colleagues at Lehigh Valley Hospital have conducted studies at local high schools that prove that with the proper intervention, students will drastically reduce distracted driving behaviors.
[Click here to view the TV news segment and here, to view the Faces of Distracted video.]
