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.

Walk Like MADD...Cloudy Morning, Sunshine Hearts
By Jan Withers | September 23, 2011 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , National President , Victim Services

The morning began cloudy with a brisk chilly breeze. That didn't stop walkers from turning out for Georgia's Walk Like MADD event in Atlanta. When asked why they came, why they walk, they said:

 

I walk to raise money for MADD - so we can continue the work of saving lives.

I come to support others who have been victimized by drunk driving.

I walk in memory of my loved one who was killed by a drunk driver.

I walk to bring awareness to this crime. It is unacceptable. It must stop.

I come to volunteer with my friends. We want a life without having to worry about drunk drivers.

I'm here because my grandparents brought me. It's fun! I love the moon bounce and the crafts. The hotdogs are good, too.

The morning was one of Friendship

of Family

of Winners

of Love

and of All the Reasons Why We Walk.

Thank you State Farm for your generous support.

SAYING THEIR NAMES
By Jan Withers | September 12, 2011 | Filed in: General , National President , Victim Services

Children reciting names
Exclaiming love to eternity
Engraving names in granite
Fingers tenderly stroking a name
Hands gently laid on a name
Wishing they were caressing
Hearts longing
 
Rose buds adorning stone
Tears falling on stone
Water falling over stone
Never forgetting
Forever loving
 
I saw a widow of a person killed on 9/11 being interviewed last week, in anticipation of the ten-year anniversary of that dark day.   As tears ran down her face while describing her husband and how much she misses him, the reporter asked with a bit of surprise, “It still hurts after all this time?”  
 
Hurting just below the surface, after “all” this time, for a lifetime 
Darkness eventually lifting 
Sunshine and smiles happening again
Holding them in our hearts perpetually
Missing them without end
Loving them ceaselessly
 
My daughter, Alisa, was killed by a drunk driver.  When she was a toddler, we used to say goodnight with these exchanges, “I love you sooo much.”  “Well, I love you to the sky.”  “Well, I love you to the clouds.”  “I love you to the moon.”  “I love you to heaven.”  “Well, I love you past heaven.” 
One night, little Alisa exclaimed, “Well, I love you to ‘finity!”  I decided not to even try to top that!  I was amazed she even knew the word infinity, let alone what it meant.   So, that is now our family saying when we say goodbye to one another:  “I love you to ‘finity.”  
 
As we say their names, let us shout, I LOVE YOU TO ‘FINITY!

Remembering 9/11 (Becoming "the Someone Else")
By Jan Withers | September 9, 2011 | Filed in: General , National President , Victim Services

I always thought it would happen to someone else. But on April 16, 1992, I became that someone else.

It started with my husband Joe telling me that our daughter, Alisa, had been in an accident—that’s what he called it at that time. Of course, as it turns out, it wasn’t an accident at all. The truth is, someone made a choice—a tragic choice—to drive drunk.

Nearly 10 years after Alisa died, I received another shock to my system. On September 11, 2001, my husband Joe was supposed to be at the Pentagon. When I heard about the tragedies that were occurring that day, I just knew that he had died. After all, I had already been “the someone else” once before. Luckily, Joe didn’t die that day. However, our collective sense of security did.

Ten years ago this Sunday, thousands of people became “the someone else.” Losing a loved one in a tragedy caused by another person’s decision is something too many of us can relate to. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the September 11th attacks.

It can happen to anyone at any time. Don’t become the someone who loses a loved one to a drunk driver. Become the somebody who does the something to make sure these tragedies no longer occur.

Planes, Automobiles, Ferries, and Horse-Drawn Carriages
By Jan Withers | August 30, 2011 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , General , National President , Victim Services

 Flying into Traverse City, Michigan we seemed to float on one layer of fluffy clouds and were gently protected with a layer above. The setting sun was a cranberry red, sending its rays across the cottony sky, gleaming off Lake Michigan and making it sparkle like rose-colored diamonds. I wondered if this where the angels dance?

Any potential trepidation of driving two hours to Mackinaw City where I was to board a ferry to magical Mackinac Island flew out the window with the cool Michigan country air.

Mackinac Island is a journey back in time. Victorian homes wave to ferry travelers from the hillsides and the unmistakable smell of horses greets visitors at the dock, for no automobiles are on the island. Instead the taxi that greeted me was a horse-drawn carriage. The Grand Hotel crowns the island in graceful splendor since 1887, still pampering its guests in romantic elegant fashion.

The true joy of the trip were the wonderful people of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Ken Stecker and Marcia Beatty were most gracious hosts, making sure every need (even when I had no needs - I was in heaven) were cared for.

Culminating the visit was a celebration of honorees at the PAAM Conference Banquet. I felt extremely humbled to partner with Mike Prince, Director of Michigan Highway Safety Planning, in presenting the David M. Schieber MADD Michigan Lifesaver Award to Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Athina Siringas. She successfully prosecuted a driver who was impaired with a 0.26 BAC while driving over 100 mph. He hit and killed a 24-year-old young woman traveling home from babysitting.

APA Siringas shared that the victim's mother asked her to not let her daughter die in vain. She asked her to simply seek justice. That is what APA Siringas did. She obtained a conviction of second degree murder as well as OWI causing death. For that I applaud Ms. Siringas.

On behalf of drunk driving victims, I offer our gratitude for treating the offense as a serious crime. It is still distressing that today our society too often treats killing someone while driving drunk as an accident instead of the violent and offensive crime it is.

I see the future with advanced technology putting an end to it. If that doesn't work, I like the idea of going back to the horse-drawn carriage days. What a peaceful thought.

Jan Withers
MADD National President