Sweet 16
By MADD | March 9, 2012| 7 Comments | Filed in: Drunk Driving

On Thursday, Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, signed a new ignition interlock bill, making Virginia the 16th state to require ignition interlock devices for all convicted drunk drivers.  Thank you to Governor McDonnell and the bill’s sponsor, Delegate Salvatore Iaquinto for recognizing the impact that ignition interlocks can have on the safety of our roads.

Currently, 16 states and a California pilot program require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers—Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

Ignition Interlock devices are a key component of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®.  After passing laws requiring ignition interlock devices for all offenders in Oregon and Arizona, those states saw drunk driving deaths decrease by 52 and 51 percent, respectively.  Read more about ignition interlock devices.

Thank you, Virginia, for getting MADD to sweet 16!

We look forward to the day when all 50 states pass similar lifesaving legislation.  Here is how you can help make that happen:

  1. Contact your state legislators if your state does not require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.
  2. Make a donation to help MADD push for stronger laws in legislatures all around the county.
  3. Help turn cars into the cure for drunk driving by contacting your federal legislators and asking them to cosponsor the ROADS SAFE act.

   

Comments

Submitted by MAMAS GIRL at 01:10 AM on April 25, 2012
NAN YOUR VERY LUCKY TO STILL HAVE A FAMILY, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT COST FOR SOMEONE TO DIE, WITHOUT THAT SO CALLED COSTLY ISSUE YOUR FAMILY HAS ENCOUNTERED YOU MIGHT JUST BE MORE THANKFUL THAT THEY HAVE SAVED THERE LIVES THEY COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED SO WHEN YOU GO TO BED KISS THEM GOOD NIGHT AND TELL THEM YOU LOVE THEM. MY MOM DIED,NO MORE KISSES, HUGS, LAUGHS, JUST TEARS AT NIGHT, IN THE MORNING TOO. IS IT REALLY A BURDEN OR A BLESSING ???????
Submitted by jason at 12:47 PM on March 20, 2012
My school is having a dilema on where to put all the profits from a recent fundrraiser..... I know that MADD is a non-profit organization but I am going to write a letter to the principal asking for this..... Because if it weren't for drug abuse, My uncle would be 45 years old today.... R.I.P. Uncle Alan.
Submitted by THINK at 05:26 PM on March 15, 2012
Nan, don't you think its a little disrespectful to complain about an inconvenience relative to a death? I mean, c'mon, its just a hassle that you're bringing up. Doesn't really compare to never seeing the person again, does it? When you say you understand "families losing a loved one," its clear that you in actuality do not understand it at all, or you wouldn't be trying to make your point in such a selfish way. Why should family members of loved ones that are killed by someone in such an unnecessary and stupid way "let go and forgive" as you put it? If you were killed by a drunk driver, how long would you want your friends and family to mourn and be angry? A day or two? A year? There's no right answer, because drunk driving is an indefensibly selfish thing to do. I know it seems to have gone away entirely, but have you no empathy?
Submitted by pod at 12:34 PM on March 14, 2012
Legislators, lawmakers, and other groups also may not be aware that the interlock device is DANGEROUS and NOT the Hands-free driving that is scrolled across billboard signs on parkways in NY. WHAT? These devices need to be reconfigured and modified. The idiots who required drivers to pick these devices up randomly while driving should test them in their own cars for a few months!
Submitted by jo at 09:40 PM on March 12, 2012
What people do not realize is that the state can convict you for drunk driving at .01 (thats right thats only half a beer).08 is nothing more than just a random number it is a myth that you cannot be convicted on DUI under .08 in fact i personel know people who have been convicted on DUI under .08
Submitted by Nan at 09:36 PM on March 10, 2012
Let me start by saying I am against drinking and driving. No one should have to lose a life due to someones ignorence. What I don' believe in is the so called legal limit and the fines. ASAP class teaching you that at .15 you cannot operate a vechicle- then why is .08 the "legal limit". I understand families upset for losing a loved one at the hand of drunk driver but what right do you have to make the court system punish someone so sererely at the 08 limit. I think MADD is nothing more then a bunch of people that are unable to let go and forgive. You have no idea the finincial burden you have put on MY family when a family memeber was stopped for a reason not pertaining to drinking at all- when the officer asked if they had been drinking they said yes and offered to take the tests- it was only .08. What good does it do to put interlock on all the vechicles owned by the offender. I have children in another state that have to have an interlock on their vechicle- what's the purpose of that. They have to go and have it calibrated some 2000 miles away. What about my family? Your rules need to be changed - making another family suffer is not going to bring your loved one back.
Submitted by Tracy at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2012
so good to see this & praying the other states soon follow

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