Putting A Face on the Issue of Drugged Driving
By MADD | October 19, 2011 | Filed in: Drugged Driving , Victim Services

Kelsey

Stephanie Call was a normal mother like any other. Her children were bright and full of spirit. They attended a private school and had all the potential in the world for success. Her family was full of love; and as a mother, Stephanie had much to be proud of.

That is, until Stephanie’s life was turned upside down. On a day that started out like any other day, her daughter, Kelsey, got into a car driven by her friend’s mom and headed to school. Suddenly, a driver under the influence of prescription drugs crossed the median in the road and struck their vehicle, killing all three occupants.  The driver pled guilty, but Stephanie and her family still feel the loss every day.

“I have a gaping hole in my heart that will never heal,” Stephanie says.

Stephanie at the  Drugged Driving launch in Washington, D.C.

Now, Stephanie is working to make sure that nobody has to experience that same kind of loss again. At an event held by MADD in Washington, D.C., Stephanie shared her story in an effort to raise awareness about the dangers of drugged driving on our nation’s roads. While MADD has always provided support to drugged driving victims who were referred to us, at the event with the help of Stephanie, MADD formally announced a nationally coordinated effort to reach out and support these victims in addition to our continued focus on serving victims of drunk driving.

You can play a part as well.  A victim advocate helped Stephanie’s family deal with the aftermath of a drugged driving crash.  But, we need your help to make sure that other drugged driving victims can also receive support. Make a donation or find out how you can become a trained victim advocate.  Because, while the substances differ, the consequences are the same—needless deaths and injuries.

National Teen Driver Safety Week
By MADD | October 18, 2011 | Filed in: Power of Parents , Underage Drinking

Parents often worry about their kids’ safety, but they have good reason to be concerned when their teen gets behind the wheel. Young, inexperienced drivers are the most crash-prone drivers on the road.  In fact, traffic crashes are the number one cause of death for American teenagers.

Know the risks
Risks that contribute to traffic crashes involving teens are:

• Impaired driving
• Too many passengers
• Driving at night
• Speeding
• Loud music
• Eating
• Cell phones
• Bad weather

Help your teen beat the odds
Driver education classes are just the beginning. Coach your teen about roadway hazards and safe driving principles. Don’t just talk about them at the kitchen table; get in the car together and see what your teen is doing.

Enforce limits
Chances of a fatal crash increase with each additional passenger, and the risks are greatest at night and on the weekends. Limit the number of passengers your teen has in the car and limit nighttime and weekend driving.

Follow the law
Most states offer graduated driver licensing (GDL), an approach that phases in privileges for new drivers. Starting with driving in less hazardous situations, beginning drivers are not allowed to drive at night or with teen passengers in their vehicle. Only when they have gained experience are they allowed to “graduate” to drive in these more risky situations. Parents need to be aware of the laws in their state and make sure that their teens obey them. GDL programs prevent about one in five crashes for 16-year-old drivers.

Gearing up for Red Ribbon Week with Anaheim Union High School District
By MADD | October 14, 2011 | Filed in: Power of Parents , Underage Drinking

As we approach Red Ribbon Week (October 24-28), we’re reminded that alcohol is the most commonly used drug by youth, more than all illegal drugs combined, and teen alcohol use kills about 6,000 people each year.  Underage drinking is also associated with many health and social problems, including poor school performance, impaired driving, interpersonal violence  and risky sexual behavior. 

However, research shows that parents are the primary influence on their kids’ decisions about whether or not to drink alcohol. So that’s why MADD and Anaheim Union High School District are joining forces to bring MADD’s Power of Parents, It’s Your Influence™ program to Anaheim families during Red Ribbon Week to help parents and caregivers of teenagers learn how to talk about the dangers of underage drinking.

AUHSD high schools will be hosting 30-minute workshops during and after Red Ribbon Week, facilitated by certified MADD staff and volunteers, to give parents and caregivers the parent handbook and provide tips to help them talk with their teens about alcohol. These workshops are open to the public, free of charge and will be offered in both English and Spanish.

When parents and kids are better connected, kids are less likely to drink or use other drugs. MADD congratulates the Anaheim Union High School District on taking the lead to bring this potentially life- saving program to its community and empowering parents and caregivers to talk effectively with teens about alcohol.

Learn more about partnering with MADD for Red Ribbon Week.

Drugged Driving: A Growing Threat on Our Roadways
By Jan Withers | October 13, 2011 | Filed in: Drugged Driving , General , National President , Victim Services

For more than 30 years, MADD has worked hard to put a face to the statistics.  Study after study shows what happens when alcohol and driving are mixed — tragedy.  But while drunk driving remains one of the primary threats on America’s roadways, alcohol isn’t the only drug that causes heartbreak on our roadways.  We are also seeing a growing trend of poly-abuse (both alcohol and other drugs) and drugged driving crashes.  Although the substances are different, the consequences are the same — needless deaths and injuries. 

Just ask Hollywood Ruch and Stephanie Call.  Both are speaking at today’s event after personally being impacted by drivers under the influence of drugs. 

Here’s what we’re up against according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Roughly one in eight weekend, nighttime drivers tested positive for illicit drugs.
• In 2009, of the drivers who were killed in motor vehicle crashes (and were subsequently tested and had results reported), one in three tested positive for drugs.
• One in ten high school seniors self-reported that in the last two weeks they had driven a car after using marijuana.

The ripple effects after a crash are as deep as they are wide.  At MADD, we like to say: first there is the crash … then there is the impact.  That is why since our founding, MADD has provided support to victims and survivors of drunk driving crashes.  After my daughter Alisa died, I turned to MADD for help.  And what I found was that not only did I get help, I got hope too. 

For the past 17 years, I’ve personally served as a victim advocate and have worked with hundreds of families, some of which lost their loved ones to a drugged driver.   Each case is as heartbreaking as the next. 

While MADD has been providing support for those victims and survivors of drugged driving crashes who have been referred to or have reached out to MADD, until now, MADD has not made specific national efforts to reach these underserved victims. Today, in recognition of the growing problem of poly-abuse and drugged driving, we are announcing alongside the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy the launch of a national coordinated effort to reach out to the underserved and growing number of drugged driving victims in the country.

Corporal David Andracsik

In addition to victim services, MADD will also begin honoring those law enforcement officers who are pioneers in discovering effective strategies for recognizing drugged driving. At MADD, we believe that recognizing officers who make significant contributions to ending drugged driving is key to raising awareness about this growing threat to American families.

Starting this year, an award, known as the ‘MADD Hero Award for Drugged Driving Enforcement,’ will be awarded biannually to a law enforcement agency, individual or group that has made significant contributions toward getting drugged drivers off of the nation’s roadways.  I am proud today to share that the first winner of the MADD Hero Award for Drugged Driving Enforcement is Corporal David Andracsik of the Pennsylvania State Police Department Bureau of Patrol.  We thank Corporal Andracsik for all he has done to help protect people and prevent injuries.

You can help support this exciting new aspect to our organization’s ongoing efforts to save lives and serve people.  Make a donation or find out how you can become a trained victim advocate.  MADD needs people like you to push our lifesaving mission forward.

MADD Hawaii’s Roaring Rendition of Fashionable Flapper Fun(d)raiser
By Jan Withers | October 10, 2011 | Filed in: General , National President

Magical weather, Magical flowers, Magical friends, Magical MADD Cab Affair

Aloha.  Travelling to Hawaii to share in a creative, festive, and fruitful affair was worth every hour on the plane. 

To be met at the airport by MADD Hawaii’s ED, Jennifer Dotson, to be greeted at the MADD Cab Affair the next evening by delightful volunteers all decked out in 1920’s flapper outfits, to enjoy an evening of dining, entertainment and bidding competition on silent auction items, and to have cabs escort all the guests to and from the event in style was an evening that I will always cherish.  The evening was a roaring success.  

Then the following evening to gather with MADD Hawaii Council members at the home of Sara and Peter Dudgeon, overlooking the waves off Diamond Head, was as relaxing as the company was enjoyable.   What a weekend!

The volunteers in MADD Hawaii are amazing.   Many have been with MADD since they formed the chapter in 1983.   Their dedication and skills are inspirational.  Others have joined more recently, bringing new talent and expertise to MADD’s mission of saving lives and supporting victims.  I left wanting more.   That says everything.