Casey Feldman Foundation Makes “NOYS” at National Teen Distracted Driving Summit

The National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) held its 2012 Teen Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month and heard from many speakers, including Joel Feldman, father of Casey Feldman and founder of EndDD.org (End Distracted Driving).

NOYS youth leaders had the opportunity to meet with other dedicated teens, safety professionals and families that have been affected by distracted driving. Numerous events were planned to help youth leaders from across the country develop distracted driving prevention programs that they can implement in their local communities. The teens will lead awareness activities throughout the school year, culminating in May during Global Youth Traffic Safety Month. Educational programs, experiential programs and focus groups were among the many events in which the teen leaders participated.

Joel Feldman addressing the teen leaders at the summit

The teens also set out in teams to observe traffic in Washington, particularly as it relates to pedestrian safety.

Joel Feldman talked about his efforts to reduce distracted driving and discussed the EndDD.org Student Awareness Initiative presentation, offering it to the teens to use, and also offering lawyer or health care providers to come into their schools and help students raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving in their communities.

Joel said “I look forward to working with many of these exceptional student leaders. Meeting many of them and talking about distracted driving helped me better understand some of the challenges we face in changing teen driving behaviors. Most of the teens also shared that their parents drive distracted- I know that our driving culture needs to change and am convinced that change will come from the efforts of young people like these NOYS Youth Leaders.”