- Mothers Against Drunk Driving - Media Center

MADD’s Efforts to Eliminate Drunk Driving Bolstered by Holiday Law Enforcement Crackdown and State Legislative Victories

11/20/2007 12:00:00 AM

Contact Information

Misty Moyse, MADD, (469) 420-4558
AnnMarie Edwards, (301) 871-5852

(DALLAS, TX) American families will be sharing the roads this Thanksgiving with more than an estimated 2.8 million convicted drunk drivers with three or more convictions, and of those, more than 600,000 have five or more convictions. That’s why Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is urging every state to pass life-saving, comprehensive alcohol ignition interlock laws that prevent the offender from driving the vehicle after drinking.

“In order to keep those first-time offenders from becoming the repeat offenders, ignition interlocks must be implemented in every state nationwide,” said Glynn Birch, national president of MADD, whose 21-month-old son was killed by a three-time repeat offender, driving on a revoked license, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .26. “Had an interlock law been in place in Florida in 1988, my son, Courtney, might be alive today.”

As Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) marks the first anniversary of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, the nation prepares for a major holiday law enforcement crackdown on drunk driving. Several more states are working to add such comprehensive alcohol ignition interlock laws to their books.

“It’s time to get repeat offenders off our nation’s roadways and it is time to limit their drunk driving practice time behind the wheel,” Birch said. Nearly 1 million of the 1.4 million drunk driving arrests annually are first-time offenders and the remaining are repeat offenders according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (1995) and the FBI (2005).

In just one year, the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving has made significant strides: four states now have comprehensive ignition interlock laws and an additional 30 are likely to consider such legislation in the 2008 legislative sessions. The alcohol ignition interlock, a breath test device linked to a vehicle’s ignition system, has proven to be up to 90 percent effective in preventing repeat drunk driving offenses when installed on an offender’s vehicle.

“The goal must be to deter, not just apprehend,” said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “Interlocks would be the ultimate deterrent if they could be applied to every driver. Then we wouldn’t have to try to convince impaired drivers not to take to the road. We could use the technology to prevent them from doing so.”

In addition to support of enforcement, such as checkpoints and the current technology of interlocks, MADD’s Campaign supports the exploration and development of advanced technology.

MADD made available today a state-by-state progress report which provides each state’s drunk driving fatalities and highlights efforts to pass ignition interlock laws, as well as sobriety checkpoints. Five states - Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, South Dakota and Vermont - have no interlock laws. Eleven other states hamper their law enforcement abilities by not allowing sobriety checkpoints. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that alcohol-related crashes and fatalities dropped by 20 percent when sobriety checkpoints are visible and well publicized.

The legislative push coincides with the launch of another very effective method of curbing drunk driving and a key component of the Campaign – intensive, high-visibility law enforcement. MADD, the Governors Highway Safety Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police will join the NHTSA national crackdown Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. Thousands of law enforcement officers throughout the nation will be cracking down on drunk drivers during this holiday season – the deadliest time of the year. More than 1,000 people are killed and numerous others are injured during the holidays each year. An $8 million national advertising blitz will occur in December warning drivers if they drive drunk, they will be arrested and prosecuted.

“Drunk driving is a deadly disregard for human life and it’s absolutely against the law. If you drive drunk, you will be arrested,” said Nicole Nason, NHTSA Administrator and honorary chairperson of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

In addition to support of enforcement, such as checkpoints and the current technology of interlocks, MADD’s Campaign supports the exploration and development of advanced technology. A Blue Ribbon panel formed by MADD, NHTSA, the auto industry and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is moving forward in developing a cooperative research plan to develop voluntary advanced vehicle-based technology to prevent drunk driving. Demonstration cars produced by several car manufacturers are leading to a future where vehicles will not start if the operator has an illegal blood alcohol level. Until there is a device that is small, inexpensive, and transparent to the sober driver so that people will want to have it on their vehicle voluntarily, alcohol ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers will ensure those who violate the public trust by driving drunk cannot do it again.

"Automakers are global leaders in research and development, with thousands of auto engineers committed to using innovation to enhance vehicle safety. For Alliance members, a top priority is working to eliminate drunk driving, so we are pleased to join MADD, the federal government and others in this shared effort," said Dave McCurdy, President & CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "New technology may provide solutions to the critical problem of drunk driving, and Alliance members are encouraging a new national dialogue and evaluation of technology's potential to significantly reduce the tragedies created by this public health crisis."

Recently, MADD advocated for these goals at the federal level where Birch testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality regarding the effectiveness of federal drunk driving programs. Birch informed the subcommittee that MADD supports substantial incentive grants for states that pass legislation requiring interlocks on all first time offenders with a BAC of .08 or above.

“For too long in America, we have been practicing a ‘catch and release’ program. Law enforcement does their very best to catch drunk drivers, and we as a society through our legislatures and courts, let them go,” Birch said. “The science tells us that up to 75 percent of drunk drivers continue to drink and drive even when their licenses have been revoked. With interlocks, drunk driving is no longer tolerated. With advanced technology, it will become impossible.”

During the holiday season, MADD is asking the public to Tie One On For Safety - in support of the Campaign and stepped-up enforcement - by displaying a MADD red ribbon on their vehicles. MADD’s premier public awareness campaignhas been mobilizing MADD affiliates and engaging communities throughout the United States for 21 years. More than 6 million red ribbons are expected to be distributed this year and are available at local MADD affiliates throughout the country.

“We know that today 1 out of 3 Americans will be impacted by a drunk driving crash during their lifetime,” said Bill Windsor, Associate Vice President of Safety for Nationwide Insurance. “This campaign is about saving lives and protecting our loved ones.”

The red ribbon show of support is especially important this year in states that are likely to consider alcohol ignition interlock legislation this year, including Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Four states – New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana and Illinois have already passed comprehensive alcohol ignition interlock laws, but Illinois will work during the legislative session to close some loopholes in the law.

The state-by-state progress report is available in PDF format at www.madd.org.

MADD derived the number of repeat offenders on the road using three states with publicly available data – Ohio, Minnesota, and Missouri. Using data from these three representative states, MADD extrapolated national numbers based on five indicators of risk for drunk driving – number of drunk driving arrests, number of drunk driving fatalities, population, licensed drivers, and vehicle registrations. Based on these extrapolations, the five estimates range from 2.8 to 4.2 million third-time and beyond offenders and 600,000 to 890,000 five-time and beyond offenders on the roads. In order to keep estimates conservative, only the low end of these data is being used.

Research clearly indicates that first time offenders already have an alcohol abuse issue and that is why MADD calls for alcohol assessment and treatment for all convicted drunk drivers. The National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse estimates 17.6 million abuse or are dependent on alcohol. “Our estimates of three and five-time repeat offenders don’t event take into account this entire group, but rather just those that have been arrested and convicted for drunk driving,” said Birch.

Click here for Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving Press kit.

About MADD
Founded in 1980, MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. MADD is a 501c(3) non-profit, grassroots organization with approximately 400 affiliates and 2 million members and supporters nationwide. For more information, please visit www.madd.org or call (800) GET-MADD.

###