Drunk Driving Fatalities Fall Below 10,000
By MADD | December 10, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new data today showing 9,878 drunk driving fatalities in 2011.  As a result, MADD is celebrating an historic milestone in the nation’s fight against drunk driving: the first time drunk driving fatalities have fallen below 10,000.
Not only did the number of people killed in drunk driving crashes in 2011 (9,878) drop by 2.5 percent from the number killed in 2010 (10,136), but this decline outpaced the 1.9 percent decrease in overall highway deaths.  

This drop in deaths is an important milestone in our nation’s ongoing fight against drunk driving and is further validation that MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® is working. 

Since MADD was founded in 1980, more than 300,000 lives have been saved as a result of efforts to strengthen drunk driving laws and raise awareness about this 100 percent preventable crime. In addition, since MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving was launched in 2006, we’ve seen an almost 27 percent decrease in drunk driving fatalities.

While we have much to celebrate today, we are also reminded of the 9,878 precious lives lost to drunk driving last year and the countless loved ones left behind to pick up the pieces. In addition, we know that preliminary numbers indicate an overall increase for highway deaths in 2012, so please help MADD remind people across the country to remain vigilant in always planning ahead for a sober designated driver during the holidays and year-round.

Click here to see the 2011 state by state fatality data.

Tie One On For Safety® This Holiday Season
By MADD | December 6, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving

One of the most dangerous times of the year on our nation’s roadways is between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. That’s why every holiday season, MADD asks drivers to display a MADD Tie One On For Safety red ribbon on their vehicle as a reminder to drive safe, sober and buckled up.

Started in 1986, Tie One On For Safety is MADD’s longest running and most visible public awareness project. The phrase, “tie one on,” is sometimes used as slang for drinking, but at MADD, we use the phrase to remind everyone that drinking and driving don’t mix.

This holiday season, show your commitment to driving safe and sober by displaying a MADD red ribbon on your vehicle. Red ribbons, magnets and window decals (donated by SmartSign) are available through local MADD affiliates.

Or you can Tie One On For Safety “virtually” by sharing a TOOFS button on Facebook and other online social networks. Click on one of the buttons below to share them.

Special thanks to Nationwide Insurance for sponsoring this year’s Tie One On For Safety efforts.

Twenty-six years of Tie One On For Safety®
By Jan Withers | December 4, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving

This is the time of year when more people are on the roads and incidents of drunk  driving increase.   That’s why MADD’s annual Tie One On For Safety campaign, now in its 26th year, encourages people to tie a red ribbon on their car, or attach a red ribbon magnet or window decal in a visible place on the vehicle, in an effort to remind everyone to drive safe, sober and buckled up.

I remember clearly the very first thing I did as a local MADD volunteer.  It was only about six months after my daughter, Alisa, was killed by a drunk driver.  I wanted to do “something” to make a difference and give back to MADD, and to show my gratitude for the unwavering support they had given me.  The director of my local MADD office knew my grief was still very raw, so she gently asked if I would mind helping distribute red ribbons.  My family and I literally took thousands of MADD red ribbons and stapled them to cards with information about MADD. It was so therapeutic to know we were doing “something” to make a difference.

All the schools in the area were requesting ribbons that would be given to students to take home, so their parents could tie them on their car antennae.  Back in the MADD office, several volunteers and I counted and packaged the ribbons into brown bags, 500 per bag.   We then stuffed our cars to the ceiling with these bags, took our trusty maps and delivered them to the schools.  It was quite an undertaking.

That awareness was invaluable for our children.  Even before Alisa was killed, I remember my children bringing the MADD red ribbons home from school during this time of year.   Let me tell you, if I didn’t get that red ribbon on the car as soon as they thought I should, my children certainly let me know about it.  Luckily, I had three school-aged children, because when the ribbon became frayed from the weather, I had two more!  

Today, I look at my car and wonder where I could possibly tie a ribbon… but thank goodness for magnets and window decals!   They are still a very visual reminder for all of us to drive sober.

I hope you will contact your local MADD office to get a red ribbon, magnet or window decal for your vehicle, to remind everyone to drive safe, sober and buckled up this holiday season.

Click here to learn how you can to participate Tie One On For Safety.

National Impaired Driving Prevention Month 2012
By MADD | December 3, 2012 | Filed in: Drugged Driving , Drunk Driving

The month of December is one of the busiest on the nation’s roadways, and also one of the most dangerous, due to a high incidence of alcohol and drug-related traffic crashes.  During December 2010, 25 people were killed in drunk driving crashes per day on average.

December has been designated National Impaired Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.  In issuing his proclamation, President Obama urges all Americans to “make responsible decisions and take appropriate measures to preventimpaired driving.” Click here to read the proclamation.

MADD has these tips to help ensure everyone’s safety this holiday season:

• If your plans involve alcohol, plan ahead for a safe way home. Even one too many drinks increases the risk of a crash. Designate a sober driver, Give the Gift of a Designated Driver®, or arrange another safe way home. 
• If you’ve been drinking use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member or use public transportation.
• If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Your actions may save someone’s life. 
• Always buckle up, drive with caution, and don’t hesitate to call 911 to report a suspected drunk driver. Just because you made the right decision to drive sober, others on the road may not have. 

No one thinks that their holiday celebration will end in tragedy. But for those who include alcohol in their celebrations and then get behind the wheel, this is too often the case. Drunk driving deaths and injuries are 100% preventable, so do your part this holiday season by choosing to drive safe and sober and help others do the same. 

Light a Virtual Candle for Your Loved Ones
By MADD | November 30, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Services

Behind every drunk driving statistic is a person whose life was full of family and friends, love and life, joy and laughter.  They are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Their lives touched so many and they will never be forgotten.

This holiday season, we are asking everyone to take part in our online celebration of life candlelight vigil, and light a virtual candle in honor of a loved one who was killed or injured in a drunk driving crash.

You can share their story or write them a message, and light a candle in their honor or memory. Participate in our online tribute by lighting your virtual candle now.