Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded in 1980 in an attempt to address the issue of drunk driving.
It was founded by a mother who lost her daughter in a drunk driving car accident. Since then, it has become the nation’s largest non-profit organization. At the beginning of MADD’s mission, more than 21,000 individuals were fatally injured each year in car accidents involving alcohol. Since its inception, MADD’s campaign has positively affected change and the number of fatal drunk driving accidents has decreased by 50%.
During its history, MADD has provided support services to more than 61,000 victims and survivors of car accidents involving drugs and alcohol. Moreover, their efforts against drunk driving have made a significant impact on reducing drunk driving fatalities. More recently, MADD has extended its reach to include educating drivers about the dangers of drugged driving.
Being impaired by any type of substance while driving can affect a driver’s judgment, reaction time, and coordination. The probability for a car accident increases tremendously when a driver is impaired by drugs, regardless if they are legal prescriptions or illegally obtained substances. MADD’s new drugged driving campaign focuses on the following key issues to alert the public to the dangers of drugged driving.
MADD warns the public that a person’s driving can be impaired, increasing the risk of a drugged driving car accident, while taking either legal, usually prescription, and illegal drugs.
The campaign cites the importance of collecting data for car accident fatalities linked to drugged driving. Currently, there is no detailed method for tracking drugged driving.
Impairment levels for each drug needs to be defined in order to make clear what exactly qualifies as impairment.
Establish a program for law enforcement to test for drug impairment. Additionally, provide training to law enforcement as to how to assess a drugged driver.
MADD strongly believes that there is a common link between drunk driving and drugged driving, and the risk of a car accident increases with both types of driver impairment. The goal of their new campaign is to apply their knowledge and experience as it relates to the fight against drunk driving and expand it to include drugged driving.
