New Survey Showing Increased Interlock Use Illustrates Success of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving®
More than a quarter of convicted drunk drivers have an ignition interlock on their vehicle
09/07/2012
Contact Information
Anna Duerr, MAD
media@madd.org
DALLAS – Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)’s efforts are reaffirmed by recently released results of the 2012 Annual Survey of Currently-Installed Ignition Interlocks in the U.S., which show that 28 percent of convicted drunk drivers have an ignition interlock on their vehicle. Laws requiring all convicted drunk drivers to prove they are sober before their vehicle will start are a critical component of MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. When the campaign launched in 2006, one in 10 convicted drunk drivers had an interlock installed, but now that number has increased to more than one in four.
“Put simply, MADD’s campaign is working. Of the estimated one million people convicted of drunk driving each year, about 279,000 are getting interlocks,” said MADD National President Jan Withers. “This is not only good news for those of us who’ve lost loved ones or been injured in a drunk driving crash, but for anyone who travels on our nation’s roadways. However, there is still more work to be done, since more than 700,000 offenders are not getting interlocks.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ignition interlocks have been proven effective in reducing repeat drunk driving offenses by 67 percent. In this new survey, states such as Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington, which require interlocks for all offenders, have the largest number of currently-installed interlocks both per person and per fatal drunk driving crash, showing that requiring interlocks for all offenders is far more successful at increasing interlock usage than allowing for judicial discretion.
Currently, all 50 states have some form of ignition interlock law, and 17 states (plus a pilot program in California) have mandatory all-offender interlock laws. For more information about ignition interlocks, visit http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/ignition-interlocks/.
For additional details about the 2012 Annual Survey of Currently-Installed Ignition Interlocks in the U.S., visit http://www.rothinterlock.org/2012surveyofcurrentlyinstalledinterlocksintheus.pdf.
About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving and underage drinking. With the help of those who want a safer future, MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® will end this danger on America’s roads. PowerTalk 21® is the national day for parents to talk with their kids about alcohol, using the proven strategies of Power of Parents™ to reduce the risk of underage drinking. And as one of the largest victim services organizations in the U.S., MADD also supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, serving one person every eight minutes through local MADD victim advocates and at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Learn more at www.madd.org or by calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.
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