MADD Georgia Honors Officers
By
MADD
|
March 26, 2012
|
Filed in:
Drunk Driving
This week, more than 400 Georgia officers received much deserved recognition in the annual Golden Shield Honors hosted by MADD and the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The sacrifice made by those who help keep our road safe was brought to light even more this year after Officer Gail Thomas of the Atlanta Police Department was struck and killed by a drunk driver this past January.
While nothing we do can ever compensate these individuals have done to protect our families, MADD works hard to host similar events across the country. Law enforcement officers play a crucial role in MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®. High visibility law enforcement like checkpoints and saturation patrols are proven to reduce drunk driving fatalities by 20 percent.
Don’t forget to thank the officers in your community. You never know when the life they save might be your own.
Don't Rely on the Luck of the Irish, Plan Ahead for a Safe Way Home
By
MADD
|
March 15, 2012
|
Filed in:
Drunk Driving
For many Americans, St. Patrick’s Day has become a popular night to go out and celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of drunk drivers, the holiday has also become very dangerous. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2009, 37% of all crash fatalities involved drunk drivers.
While the holiday is associated with Irish merriment and festive drinks, the safety message shouldn’t be lost. Have fun, but don’t drink if you are under 21 years old and never get behind the wheel impaired.
Whether meeting a few friends at the local pub after work or attending a parade or party, if you plan on drinking alcohol, MADD wants you to make plans for a safe and sober way home or an overnight stay.
Thank you, Orbitz for donating $1 to MADD for every download of the Hotels by Orbitz app for iPhone or iPad from noon on March 16, 2012 to noon on March 18, 2012.
Learn more about the Hotels by Orbitz iPhone app or iPad app.
You also can help get your friends home safely this St. Patrick's Day—just Give the Gift of a Designated Driver™ to someone you love. Create a personalized coupon and share a safe, sober ride home.
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:
- Contact your state legislators if your state does not require ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers.
- Make a donation to help MADD push for stronger laws in legislatures all around the county.
- 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.
