On Friday, November 20th, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) celebrated the third anniversary of its Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving.

This important campaign has relied on four key elements:

• Support for High Visibility Law Enforcement

This includes a strong police presence on roads, especially during holidays when people are susceptible to imbibing too many alcoholic beverages. 
The launch for the nationwide holiday crackdown of “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” is set for December 14th.  MADD continues to advocate for sobriety checkpoints in all fifty states, and supports full funding for law enforcement budgets.

• Ignition Interlocks for all Convicted Drunk Drivers

Starting with one state, New Mexico, in 2005, there are currently 12 states with statewide requirements for interlocks at .08 BAC, and California with a major pilot program covering four counties.  The states cover 77 million people, with the recent New York law adding 21 million people. Results from New Mexico and Arizona report fatality reductions of 35 percent and 33 percent.

• Voluntary Exploration of Advanced Technologies

The Cooperative Research Agreement between the United States Department of Transportation and the world’s leading automobile companies is well underway.  Three technology companies are now under contract to develop proof of concept devices that will unobtrusively and effectively detect when the driver is over the illegal level of .08 BAC and design prototypes are expected to be available by the summer of 2010.

• Public Support

The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) released a major public opinion poll on September 17, 2009. It found that 84% of the public support interlocks for convicted drunk drivers, and 64% support advanced technology in all vehicles to stop drunk driving.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety issued its national poll in July 2009. It found that 90% of those polled support interlocks for convicted drunk drivers, and 78% support interlocks in all vehicles.

For more information about MADD, please visit madd.org.

Tags: Automobile Safety, General, Organizations, Teen Drivers // Add Comment »