Parents of Casey Feldman Join Forces with Street Safe, OCPD

Drivers had the chance to hone their driving skills and try out technology used by the military and hospitals July 23 in the parking lot of the library at 17th and Simpson Avenues in Ocean City, N.J.

A driving simulator was part of an event to raise awareness of safe driving skills, driving distractions and pedestrian safety, organized in memory of a Springfield, Pa. woman killed in Ocean City, N.J. two years ago.

Casey Feldman, 21, a honors graduate and senior journalism student at Fordham University was struck July 17, 2009 by a delivery van as she crossed the intersection of 14th and Central Avenue. The distracted driver was reportedly reaching for a cup of iced tea in the passenger side of the vehicle.

Ocean City Police Department Captain Steven Ang said Casey’s death was a tragedy that has galvanized public awareness about pedestrian safety. He advised the best prevention is good communication between drivers and pedestrians.

“It’s a resort town so a lot of people might be coming here from somewhere else. Be courteous, be aware, take your time,” he said.

In the two years since her death, Casey’s parents, Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson, have been educating the public about the danger of distracted driving through a foundation in Casey’s memory.

Saturday’s event was the cooperative effort of the Casey Feldman Foundation, the Ocean City Police Department and Street Safe Driving Academy, with locations in Bryn Mawr, Pa., Blue Bell, Pa. and Haddonfield, N.J.

While members of the public took a turn in the simulator or signed the banner pledging not to drive distracted, inside, a U.S. Department of Transportation public service video entitled, featured Casey’s friends and family speaking about the pain of her loss and what people can do to prevent similar tragedies. The message: just focus on driving when behind the wheel. Don’t touch your cell phone. Don’t fumble with your belongings. Just drive.

Street Safe founder Meg Kramer was anticipating her young children’s future as drivers when she developed the program.

“They were little at the time but I was realizing — driving is the most dangerous thing your children are ever going to do. Where is the training? I want something really comprehensive and I want something professionally done.”

Kramer conducted market research by working as a driving instructor, herself. She asked parents and teen drivers what they felt was missing from programs at the time. She developed her own model.

Her idea was to overhaul the concept, experience and expectation of driver training.

“Instead of a classroom, which is traditionally 30 hours of video watching and reading, what if we make it really interactive? What if we make it field trips and driving simulators and guest speakers?”

Street Safe uses off-duty police officers as driving instructors.

“Not only are they knowledgeable and credible, but they have that expertise. They are out there on the road every single day. They can bring it home. They can make it real to these kids,” she said.

Street Safe has adapted state-of-the-art technology used by hospitals to rehabilitate stroke victims and by military to train personnel.

Stationary training vehicles equipped with a Drive Square virtual simulator mimic busy roadways as police officers guide computerized training sessions. The student wears a headpiece that broadcasts a virtual scene and a virtual speedometer changes as the student presses the accelerator or applies the brake. Virtual crosswalks, pedestrians and errant vehicles keep the driver on their toes teaching to manage the driving landscape. Just as important, the software provides data individualized to each student that identifies skills in need of further training.

Pennsylvania is like the majority of states in that most driver education funding has been cut from school budgets. New Jersey still teaches driver education in schools. Street Safe is licensed and operates in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The law changed April 1, 2010 in New Jersey and now requires motorists to stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. Ang said the responsibility goes both ways.

“The pedestrian has to observe and make sure the motorist has enough time to stop before they step out into the crosswalk. They cannot just walk out into the street and assume the car is going to stop. … Make eye contact. If that happens at every intersection, we won’t have a problem.”

In Street Safe's first two years, over 2,000 teens have gone through the program, according to Kramer.

“We bring the parents into the training process,” she said. “We communicate with the parents regularly.”

Programs are available in shore towns including Ocean City through Street Safe’s office location in Haddonfield, at (856) 229-7257.

“We’re trying to save lives. We want our students to be accident- and injury-free,” said Kramer.

For more information, click the links above or to the right.