Distracted Driving: Is It Worth The Risk

                 At any given moment in the United States, 660,000 people are driving distracted.
                Whether it be handling a cellphone or operating a GPS, distracted driving comes in many different shapes and forms.
                Casey Feldman was a victim of one of those 660,000 people.
                She was just like any other 21-year-old college student.  She had a job.  She was earning her degree at Fordham.  She had family, friends and people who loved and cared for her.  She had her entire future, her entire life, ahead of her.
               Unfortunately, Casey lost her life in 2009 because of an accident.  An accident that was caused by distracted driving.  She was struck and killed as a pedestrian.
               Joel Feldman, Casey's father, decided he would change the way people viewed distracted driving after his daughter passed away.
              Instead of watching the world around him continue to drive dangerously under certain conditions, he utilized the incident as an opportunity to educate others.
              Today, he travels the country in hopes of sharing the terrible disasters that often result from distracted driving with teenagers, adults and businesses.
              On, Oct. 2, Feldman visited Pennsbury High School to preach to the students, teachers and staff what distracted driving has the power to take away, what is has the power to ruin.
              "People think they are multitasking, but they are not," Feldman said.  "They're just switching their attention to something else."
             Since Casey's death, Feldman has devoted his time and effort to carrying out the mission of End Distracted Driving, or EDD.  This organization hopes to educate drivers of all ages about the dangers of driving distracted, stressing the importance of being alert and focused at all times.
             Feldman's presentation includes videos, live demos and an interactive question-and-answer session, and it has been viewed by nearly 125,000 students across the nation.
             A mock field sobriety test was also performed with Pennsbury students who volunteered to wear googles that distorted their stability while walking, swaying most of the students into believing distracted driving is a growing issue on the roads.
            Throughout the presentation, Feldman stressed various ways distracted driving could easily be avoided.
            Pull over to a safe location to check texts, listen to voice mails or call someone.  Have a passenger in the car?  Even better!   Designate that person as the one to make calls or answer texts.
            If you know you will be driving for a long period of time, let family and friends know you will be driving.  Even when driving alone, it's not a terrible idea to turn off your cellphone and wait until you reach your destination to turn it back on.
           Fortunately for Pennsbury and the surrounding communities, the United Way of Bucks County, Falls Township and the Lower Makefield Township Police Department, Feldman's presentation at Pennsbury High School could most definitely be considered a success.
          Living in the 21st century, it can be difficult to stress enough to teenagers, and even adults, just how harmful it is to drive without 100 percent focus.
          But by having the students interactively involved within the presentation, Feldman was able to convey his point : Distracted driving will never be worth it.