Ron Replogle, Colonel (ret)
Missouri State Highway Patrol
National Law Enforcement Initiatives Manager
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
To all our law enforcement officer heroes,
First and foremost, thank you for your service and for keeping our roadways and communities safe. You are the last line of defense to protect all of us from the violent crime of impaired driving and we greatly appreciate you!
Drivers impaired by alcohol and other drugs have been, and continue to be, a major public safety problem. In 2020, NHTSA early estimates indicate alcohol related fatal crashes increased by 9% and, as I am sure you are already aware, drug impaired driving is on the rise. We are currently trending in the wrong direction!
Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the leading national grassroots organization working to reduce impaired driving in the United States with extensive state and local chapter support. Since its establishment in 1980, MADD has demonstrated tremendous progress toward its mission to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. In 2006, MADD launched the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® to put an end to drunk driving and create a future of No More Victims®. This strategic campaign is comprised of four tenants in which we focus our work:
- Support for Law Enforcement – MADD supports law enforcement and high visibility enforcement efforts to catch drunk drivers and discourage others from driving drunk.
- Ignition Interlocks for All Offenders – MADD is supportive of requirements for ignition interlock devices for all drunk drivers.
- Support for Advanced Technology – MADD is supportive of the development in-vehicle technology to determine automatically whether the driver is above the illegal limit before operating their vehicle.
- Public Support – MADD is working to reengage the public in the fight against impaired driving.
The success of MADD, other advocates and your enforcement and education efforts has helped reverse public acceptance of drunk driving; however, the problem is far from solved. We understand the critical importance of law enforcement’s role in the identification and arrest of impaired drivers in today’s ever-changing traffic enforcement environment.
As part of our ongoing support of law enforcement through the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving, MADD seeks to increase the fair and equitable enforcement of impaired driving laws through the creation and dissemination of a roll call briefing video series for law enforcement focusing on the importance of strong enforcement and new impaired driving enforcement strategies.
MADD partnered with NHTSA on the Law Enforcement Impaired Driving Roll Call Video Series Cooperative Agreement Project. We used MADD victim stories and law enforcement officer short interviews and statements in the video storylines. It is our hope that when law enforcement officers view the video series, they will have a renewed spirit and will increase their enforcement and education efforts to eliminate impaired driving.
Below you will find the links to the MADD Law Enforcement Impaired Driving Roll Call Video Series and MADD’s Law Enforcement Support webpage. The main Roll Call Video “We Can Stop This” and the nine companion short videos have been designed to be viewed during general roll call briefings and briefings before specialized enforcement events such as sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. They would also be ideal for viewing in training academy settings for impaired driving detection training classes.
Again, thank you for your dedication to duty and for all you do for public safety in these very trying times we are currently in. Please stay safe out there!
MADD Roll Call Video Series – https://vimeo.com/channels/1695972
MADD Law Enforcement Support Webpage – www.madd.org\les
