Powerful Program, Powerful People
By Jan Withers | March 15, 2012 | Filed in: Power of Parents

MADD Florida Executive Director, David Pinsker, arranged for MADD to appear on Lifetime TV's morning show, The Balancing Act.  MADD’s Power of Parents® program was center stage.  The show will air in April (we will keep you posted with more information). 

Dave has only been Executive Director for a few months, but has already proven to be a powerful advocate, jumping in “on all four” with all his energy and skills to support MADD’s mission.  We are so pleased he is with us. 

The other powerful people with whom Dorene Ocamb, the National Marketing Director, and I met are the MADD Broward County staff members.  These women exude a passionate concern for supporting victims and a passionate dedication to saving lives.

April 21st is PowerTalk21® day—the national day for parents to talk with their teens about the dangers of underage drinking.  However, we don’t want that to be the only time to have the discussion.  The power comes from positive, frequent discussions with our children, sharing expectations and consequences, because we love them and want them to always be safe. 

Three out of four teens say that their parents are the number one influence about alcohol use.  We not only have the responsibility to have these discussions with our children, we have the power to influence their decisions.

MADD Praises the Senate for Passing Key Legislation
By MADD | March 14, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving

Kudos to the U.S. Senate for passing Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21, which includes the ROADS SAFE Act.  The provision would authorize $12 million a year, over two years, for research of in-vehicle advanced technologies that could seamlessly and passively detect a drunk driver. The safety provisions included in MAP-21 could set in motion the elimination of drunk driving, and save tens of thousands of lives each year.

MAP-21 also includes much-needed updates to our nation’s highway safety programs.  Chief among these is a new incentive grant program to encourage states to adopt all-offender ignition interlock programs.  In Oregon and Arizona, these laws have reduced drunk driving fatalities by more than 50 percent. 

MAP-21 also continues funding for the annual high-visibility crackdown efforts known as Click it or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.  Additionally, the legislation establishes mechanisms to assure that state traffic safety programs supported with Federal funding are more effective in addressing the most critical safety needs.

We would like to thank Chairmen Rockefeller and Boxer, and Senators Udall, Corker, Hutchison, Lautenberg, Pryor, Vitter, Klobuchar, Schumer and Murray for their leadership to eliminate drunk driving.   MAP-21 represents an historic opportunity to advance highway safety in America and truly eliminate drunk driving.
For more information, view the full press release or read more about the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program.

Sweet 16
By MADD | March 9, 2012 | 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.

Study of Washington Drivers Shows Interlocks Reduce Repeat Offenses
By MADD | March 6, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving

A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) supports mandatory installation of ignition interlocks on the vehicles of all drunk drivers, including first-time offenders, a key component of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®.  Researchers for the IIHS study examined the driving records of convicted drunk drivers in Washington State, and found that the recidivism rate fell 12 percent among those affected by the law expansion. The IIHS estimates that if all Washington DUI offenders had the interlocks installed at the time of the study, the recidivism rate would have been reduced by nearly half.

There are currently 15 states throughout the U.S. that require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. In Arizona and Oregon, laws requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers have contributed significantly to the number of drunk driving deaths dropping 51 and 52 percent, respectively.

Studies show that a first-time convicted drunk driver is not a first-time offender, but rather it is simply the first time they have been caught. In fact, first-time offenders have driven drunk an average of 80 times before they are convicted.

More than 10,000 people are killed and another 350,000 are injured in drunk driving crashes each year in the U.S.   This IIHS study confirms that requiring all convicted drunk drivers to use an ignition interlock has the power to save lives and prevent injuries across the country.  MADD urges states to follow in Washington’s footsteps and enact this lifesaving legislation.

For more information about ignition interlocks and MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, visit www.madd.org/campaign.

Why We're Here: ShiAnn Robinson
By MADD | March 5, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Services , Victim Stories

On April 29, 2000, Amie Jo picked up her two and a half year old daughter, ShiAnn, from the babysitters, and planned on running the typical daily errands before her weekly play date with a friend.  But that day would turn out to be anything but typical.

While driving to their friend’s house, ShiAnn and Amie Jo were singing, laughing and enjoying the spring day, until Amie Joe saw a truck heading straight for them.  Despite a desperate attempt to get out of the way, her car was hit by the truck, forcing it to roll several times.  Amie Jo reached back to try to brace ShiAnn from the impact, but was unable to reach her.

When the car came to a stop, she could hear was her daughter screaming, and saw ShiAnn covered in blood from the multiple cuts on her face; the car seat was in pieces.

ShiAnn was careflighted to Children’s Hospital of Dallas where she was immediately taken into surgery, and placed on life support.  After three and a half weeks, Amy Jo had to make a decision that no parent should ever have to make—to take her sweet baby off the machines that were keeping her alive–and on May 24th, ShiAnn died on from her injuries.

To make matters worse, the drunk driver, a repeat offender on probation for a previous DUI, fled the scene.  He was later found, but released on bail and ran for two years before being captured.   At the time of the crash, the driver had an ignition interlock installed in his truck.  Unbelievably, his wife blew into it for him, allowing him to drive drunk and kill an innocent child.   

Despite the amount of grief and turmoil Amie Jo has been through, she continues to honor her daughter.  She is now an active member and volunteer with MADD East Texas, telling her story at MADD Victim Impact Panels® and participating in Walk Like MADD®.  Amie Jo says, “This is hard to cope with, but my love for my daughter keeps me strong and with the help from the people at MADD, I can share ShiAnn’s story and let it be known that this has to stop.”