We're MADD. Mothers against Drunk Driving.
We're dads and daughters, sons, and uncles, friends and neighbors. And mothers. We're all ages and from all walks of life. We speak of love and loss, but also of survival and hope.
Since our beginning in 1980, we've been working to make our roads and communities safer by preventing motorists from drinking and driving. And it's been paying off. Our efforts helped reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes and injuries. It is estimated that MADD has saved more than 358,000 lives since 1980. Since the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age law (MLDA) was enacted in 1984, an estimated 25,000 lives have been saved
But our work doesn't stop there. MADD also provides much-needed comfort and support for victims and survivors. And we are deeply committed to the prevention of underage drinking because alcohol is the deadliest drug for the youth today.
Every year, nearly 13,500 people are killed by drunk drivers with an illegal alcohol level of .08 BAC or above.
The Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving kicked off in November 2006 with the goal of eliminating drunk driving permanently. The Campaign has four essential elements:
*Mandatory ignition interlocks for ALL convicted drunk drivers
*Increased law enforcement efforts including crackdowns during holiday weekends, sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols
*Advanced vehicle technology that would make it impossible for a drunk person to start a vehicle
*Public support - led by you and other concerned citizens nationwide
As you can see, we have done so much. But there is much more to be done. And we can't do it alone. We need more people like YOU.
Keywords: victim support, volunteers, grief support, education, public health prevention, stop drunk driving, court support, referrals.