Maryland Lawyers Launch Initiative to Fight Distracted Driving by Teens: Janet, Jenner and Suggs, LCC

BALTIMORE, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys in Maryland have launched a one-year initiative to help lower the death and injury toll involving distracted teen drivers, announced Elisha Hawk, attorney with Janet, Jenner & Suggs.  

Hawk said lawyers with the Maryland Association for Justice have begun a year-long partnership with the End Distracted Driving | Student Awareness Campaign to raise awareness of distracted driving risks among high school students throughout the state.  Hawk is Parliamentarian and Chair of the New Lawyers Section for Maryland Association of Justice, the organization that is spearheading the effort in Maryland.

The first training session for volunteers is scheduled for 5 pm, Friday, April 4, at the law offices of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, 1777 Reisterstown Road, Suite 165, Pikesville, MD 21208. 

"We want to reach students now, before they've hurt or killed someone.  We want to prevent the accidents before they happen," said Hawk, who brought the idea of the program to MAJ after attending a presentation by Joel Feldman last year at a dinner for Massachusetts Trial Lawyers.

She said she was moved by the presentation, and by Feldman's commitment to the cause after tragically losing his daughter. Casey Feldman was just 21 years old when she was struck and killed by a distracted driver while crossing the street in a crosswalk.

"Our goal is to present the program in as many Maryland schools as we can over the next year using our members and to hopefully make a real difference in addressing this growing danger,  particularly among young drivers," she added.

The 70-minute training session will teach attorneys how to present End Distracted Driving materials in schools.  Although driving while on a cell phone is against the law in Maryland, other distractions – such as texting, eating, drinking and putting on makeup—are just as dangerous.  Attorneys interested in becoming presenters, and schools interested in scheduling a speaker, should contact Elisha Hawk at [email protected] or Joel Feldman at [email protected].

A bill called "Jake's Law" to increase penalties for distracted driving has been passed by both the Maryland House and Senate and is awaiting an agreement on a joint bill. The law is named for Jake Owen, a five-year-old Maryland child who was killed in a 2011 crash involving distracted driving.

Contact Teresa Kelly
512-328-4276, [email protected]
 For more Information

SOURCE Janet, Jenner and Suggs, LCC