Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop
drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol or any other drug. The
Irving, Texas–based
[ organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California][ by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver.] There is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has claimed that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding.
Positions
According to MADD's website, "The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking." Generally MADD favors strict policy in a variety of areas, including an illegal blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
of .08% or lower and using stronger sanctions for DUI offenders, including mandatory jail sentences, treatment for alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
and other alcohol abuse issues, ignition interlock devices,[Ignition Interlock - Issue Brief]
from the MADD website and license suspensions; maintaining the minimum legal drinking age at 21 years; mandating alcohol breath-testing ignition interlock devices (IIDs) for everyone convicted of driving while legally impaired.
MADD's founder Candace Lightner left the group in 1985. In the same year, Stevie Wonder added the song "Don’t Drive Drunk" on the '' Woman in Red'' movie soundtrack that referenced MADD and summarized its policy positions.
In 2002, as reported by ''The Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughou ...
'', Lightner stated that MADD "has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned … I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving".[Bresnahan, S]
MADD struggles to remain relevant
''Washington Times
''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...
'' Metropolitan edition), August 6, 2002, B1-2
Author Susan Cheever
Susan Cheever (born July 31, 1943) is an American author and a prize-winning best-selling writer well known for her memoir, her writing about alcoholism, and her intimate understanding of American history. She is a recipient of the PEN New Englan ...
and the SAGE ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'' have said MADD is a manifestation of the temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
. MADD "supports a substantial increase in taxation on alcoholic beverages as a means of covering the cost to society caused by misuse of alcohol". MADD "advocates that schools and other organizations hosting social and athletic gatherings for youth take positive steps to ensure that alcoholic beverages not be present at those gatherings".
History
On May 3, 1980, Cari Lightner, a 13-year-old girl, was killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver at Sunset and New York Avenues in Fair Oaks, California
Fair Oaks is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento–Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 32,514 at the 2020 census, up fro ...
. The 46-year-old driver, who had recently been arrested for another DUI hit-and-run, left Cari's body at the scene. Cari's mother, Candace (Candy) Lightner, organized Mothers Against Drunk Driving and subsequently served as its founding president. A 1983 television movie about Lightner garnered publicity for the group, which grew rapidly.
In the early 1980s, the group attracted the attention of the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
. Senator Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
(D-NJ) did not like the fact that youth in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
could easily travel to New York to purchase alcoholic beverages
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The cons ...
, circumventing New Jersey's law restricting consumption to those 21 years old and older.
The group had its greatest success with the enacting of a 1984 federal law, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 () was passed by the United States Congress and was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase a ...
, that introduced a federal penalty (a 5%—later raised to 10%—loss of federal highway dollars), for states that did not raise the minimum legal age for the purchase and possession of alcohol to 21. After the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
upheld the law in the 1987 case of ''South Dakota v. Dole
''South Dakota v. Dole'', 483 U.S. 203 (1987), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court considered the limitations that the Constitution places on the authority of the United States Congress when Congress uses its authority to influence ...
'', every state and the District of Columbia made the necessary adjustments by 1988 (but not the territories of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
). However, in July 2010 Guam raised its drinking age to 21.
In 1985, Lightner objected to the shifting focus of MADD, and left her position with the organization.
In 1988, a drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71
Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 in Kentucky, I-64 and ...
in Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
caused a head-on collision with a school bus. Twenty-seven people died and dozens more were injured in the ensuing fire. Known as the Carrollton bus disaster, it equaled another bus crash in Kentucky in 1958 as the deadliest bus crash in US history. In the aftermath, several parents of the victims became actively involved in MADD and one became its national president.
In 1990, MADD Canada
MADD Canada is the Canadian arm of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Its stated purpose is to stop impaired driving and to support victims. MADD Canada operates public awareness and education programs which focus on preventing impaired driving. Local ...
was founded with Toronto activist John Bates as chair.
In 1994, ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy
''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in philanthropy. ''The Chro ...
'' released the results of the largest study of charitable and non-profit organization popularity and credibility. The study showed that MADD was ranked as the "most popular charity/non-profit in America of over 100 charities researched with 51% of Americans over the age of 12 choosing 'Love' and 'Like A Lot' for MADD".
MADD released its first "Rating the States" report, grading the states in their progress against drunk driving, in 1991. "Rating the States" has been released four times since then.
In 1999, MADD's National Board of Directors unanimously voted to change the organization's mission statement to include the prevention of underage drinking.
In 2002, MADD announced its "Eight-Point Plan". This consisted of:
# Resuscitating the nation's efforts to prevent impaired driving.
# Increasing driving while intoxicated (DWI)/driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement, especially the use of frequent, highly publicized sobriety checkpoints.
# Enacting primary enforcement seat belt laws in all states.
# Creating tougher, more comprehensive sanctions geared toward higher-risk drivers.
# Developing a dedicated National Traffic Safety Fund.
# Reducing underage drinking.
# Increasing beer excise taxes to the same level as those for spirits.
# Reinvigorating court monitoring programs.
In a November 2006 press release, MADD launched its 'Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving': this is a four-point plan to eliminate drunk driving in the United States using a combination of current technology (such as alcohol ignition interlock devices), new technology in smart cars, law enforcement, and grass roots activism.
MADD's national president was Millie I. Webb in 2002. Chuck Hurley became MADD CEO in 2005. He retired in June 2010 and was replaced by Kimberly Earle, who had been CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure since 2007. Earle left to become the president of a new foundation of Sanford Health
Sanford Health is a non-profit, integrated health care delivery system, with its headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota.
History
Sanford Health has its ...
in January 2012, the Edith Sanford Breast Cancer Foundation. Debbie Weir replaced her as MADD's CEO.
In 2019, MADD Brazil was founded.
Funding
According to Obama-Coburn Federal Funding Accountability Transparency Act of 2006, MADD received $56,814 in funds from the federal government in fiscal year 2000, and a total of $9,593,455 between fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
s 2001 and 2006.
In 1994, ''Money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
'' magazine reported that telemarketers raised over $38 million for MADD, keeping nearly half of it in fees. This relationship continues to date.
In 2001, ''Worth'' magazine listed MADD as one of its "100 best charities".
In 2005, ''USA Today'' reported that the American Institute of Philanthropy
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
was reducing MADD from a "C" to a "D" in its ratings. The Institute noted that MADD categorizes much of its fundraising expenses as "educational expenses", and that up to 58% of its revenue was expended on what the Institute considered fundraising and management.
Charity Navigator rated MADD at 63.53 out of 100 on its financial rating scale and 96.00 out of 100 on its accountability and transparency scale for its 2013 fiscal year.[Mothers Against Drunk Driving]
. ''Charity Navigator''. Accessed on January 19, 2016. MADD reported that it spent 24.4% of its total expenses on fundraising that year.
In 2014, MADD spent over $9 million on fundraising activities according to its 2014 tax return.
Activities and criticisms
Radley Balko
Radley Prescott Balko (born April 19, 1975) is an American journalist, author, blogger, and speaker who writes about criminal justice, the drug war, and civil liberties. In 2022, he began publishing his work on Substack after being let go from ...
, an advocate for decriminalizing drunk driving, argued in a December 2002 article that MADD's policies were becoming overbearing. "In fairness, MADD deserves credit for raising awareness of the dangers of driving while intoxicated. It was almost certainly MADD's dogged efforts to spark public debate that effected the drop in fatalities since 1980, when Candy Lightner founded the group after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver," Balko wrote. "But MADD is at heart a bureaucracy, a big one. It boasts an annual budget of $45 million, $12 million of which pays for salaries, pensions and benefits. Bureaucracies don't change easily, even when the problems they were created to address change."[Targeting the Social Drinker Is Just MADD]
," Balko, Radley (from the CATO Institute
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...
website) Charity Watch
CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
gives MADD a "C−" grade.
Drunk driving laws
MADD was heavily involved in lobbying to reduce the legal limit for blood alcohol
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...
from BAC .10 to BAC .08. In 2000, this standard was passed by Congress and by 2004, every state had a legal .08 BAC limit. MADD Canada
MADD Canada is the Canadian arm of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Its stated purpose is to stop impaired driving and to support victims. MADD Canada operates public awareness and education programs which focus on preventing impaired driving. Local ...
has called for a maximum legal BAC of .05. Although many MADD leaders have supported a lower limit, MADD has not called for a legal limit of .05 in the United States.
Victim impact panels
MADD promotes the use of victim impact panels (VIPs), in which judges require DWI offenders to hear victims or relatives of victims of drunk driving crashes relate their experiences. MADD received $5,547,693 in 2010 from VIPs; much of this income was voluntary donations by those attending as some states do not allow a fee to be charged to offenders for non-legislative programs. Other states like California and Georgia require that a fee be paid in order to attend. In California, this fee ranges from $25 to $50 depending on the county and in Georgia this fee is $50. Some states in the United States, such as Massachusetts, permit victims of all crimes, including drunk driving accidents, to give victim impact statement
A victim impact statement is a written or oral statement made as part of the judicial legal process, which allows crime victims the opportunity to speak during the sentencing of the convicted person or at subsequent parole hearings.
Overview
One ...
s prior to sentencing so that judges and prosecutors can consider the impact on victims in deciding on an appropriate sentence to recommend or impose. The presentations are often emotional, detailed, and graphic, and focus on the tragic negative consequences of DWI and alcohol-related crashes. According to the John Howard Society
The John Howard Society of Canada is a Canadian non-profit organization that seeks to develop understanding and effective responses to the problem of crime and prison reform. It is named after John Howard, a philanthropist and early English priso ...
, some studies have shown that permitting victims to make statements and to give testimony is psychologically beneficial to them and aids in their recovery and in their satisfaction with the criminal justice system.[Victim Impact Statements—John Howard Society of Alberta](_blank)
, 1997 A New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
study suggested that the VIPs tended to be perceived as confrontational by multiple offenders. Such offenders then had a higher incidence of future offenses.[A Randomized Trial of Victim Impact Panels’ DWI Deterrence Effectiveness]
," W. G. Woodall, H. Delaney, E. Rogers, & D. R. Wheeler; Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions (CASAA), University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
''Grand Theft Auto''
On April 29, 2008, MADD issued a press release criticizing the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...
'' saying it was "extremely disappointed" with the manufacturers. MADD has called on the ESRB
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in the United States and Canada. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Asso ...
to re-rate the game to Adults Only. They also called on the manufacturer (Rockstar
Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to:
Films
* ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg
* ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali
* ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...
) "to consider a stop in distribution – if not out of responsibility to society then out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving." Players can drive drunk in ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' but doing so makes it harder to drive. The game also explicitly recommends that the player take a taxi instead of driving, and the character makes humorous remarks suggesting that it is bad to drive drunk. Ignoring these will lead to consequences: if any police officer is around while the player is drunk driving, the player immediately becomes wanted by the police.
Blood alcohol content
Prior to MADD's influence, drunk driving laws addressed the danger by making it a criminal offense to drive a vehicle while impaired — that is, while "under the influence of alcohol"; the amount of alcohol in the body was evidence of that impairment. The level specified at that time — commonly, 0.15% — was high enough to indicate drunkenness rather than impairment. In part due to MADD's influence, all 50 states have now passed laws making it a criminal offense to drive with a designated level of alcohol of .08% or higher.[
]
Sobriety checkpoints
MADD writes that "opponents of sobriety checkpoints tend to be those who drink and drive frequently and are concerned about being caught".[Sobriety Checkpoints: Facts & Myths](_blank)
from MADD's website
Radley Balko
Radley Prescott Balko (born April 19, 1975) is an American journalist, author, blogger, and speaker who writes about criminal justice, the drug war, and civil liberties. In 2022, he began publishing his work on Substack after being let go from ...
, opponent of limits on drunk driving[ and writer for '']Reason Magazine
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reaso ...
'', discusses the possible social implications of some of MADD's policies in a 2002 article. He writes, "In its eight-point plan to 'jump-start the stalled war on drunk driving,' MADD advocates the use of highly publicized but random roadblocks to find drivers who have been drinking."
Beer taxes
Balko criticizes MADD for not advocating higher excise taxes on distilled spirits, even though it campaigns for higher excise taxes for beer. He writes, "Interestingly, MADD refrains from calling for an added tax on distilled spirits, an industry that the organization has partnered with on various drunk driving awareness projects." MADD writes, "Currently, the federal excise tax is $.05 per can of beer, $.04 for a glass of wine and $.12 for a shot of distilled spirits, which all contain about the same amount of alcohol."[ Point 7 of MADD's 8-Point Plan is to "Increase beer excise taxes to equal the current excise tax on distilled spirits".
]
Breath alcohol ignition interlock devices
Additionally, MADD has proposed that breath alcohol ignition interlock device
An ignition interlock device or breath alcohol ignition interlock device (IID or BAIID) is a breathalyzer for an individual's vehicle. It requires the driver to blow into a mouthpiece on the device before starting or continuing to operate the vehi ...
s should be installed in all new cars. Tom Incantalupo wrote: "Ultimately, the group said yesterday, it wants so-called alcohol interlock devices factory-installed in all new cars. "The main reason why people continue to drive drunk today is because they can," MADD president Glynn Birch said at a news teleconference from Washington, D.C."
Sarah Longwell, a spokeswoman for the restaurant lobbying group American Beverage Institute The American Beverage Institute is a trade group based in Washington, D.C. that lobbies on alcoholic drink related issues on behalf of the restaurant industry. It describes itself as "dedicated to protecting the on-premises dining experience - whic ...
, responded to MADD's proposals for ignition interlocks by stating "This interlock campaign is not about eliminating drunk driving, it is about eliminating all moderate drinking prior to driving. The 40 million Americans who drink and drive responsibly should be outraged." She also points out that "Many states have laws that set the presumptive level of intoxication at .05% and you can't adjust your interlock depending on which state you're driving in. Moreover, once you factor in liability issues and sharing vehicles with underage drivers you have pushed the preset limit down to about .02%. It will be a ''de facto'' zero tolerance policy."
A review by the California Department of Motor Vehicles
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the state agency that registers motor vehicles and boats and issues driver licenses in the U.S. state of California. It regulates new car dealers (through the New Motor Vehicle Board), c ...
concluded that "interlock works for some offenders in some contexts, but not for all offenders in all situations. More specifically, ignition interlock devices work best when they are installed, although there is also some evidence that judicial orders to install an interlock are effective for repeat DUI offenders, even when not all offenders comply and install a device. California's administrative program, where repeat DUI offenders install an interlock device in order to obtain restricted driving privileges, is also associated with reductions in subsequent DUI incidents. One group for whom ignition interlock orders do not appear effective is first DUI offenders with high blood alcohol levels."[California Department of Motor Vehicle]
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Ignition Interlock in California
See also
* Alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States
Alcohol-related traffic crashes are defined by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as alcohol-related if either a driver or a non-motorist had a measurable or estimated BAC of 0.01 g/dl or above.
This stati ...
* Amethyst Initiative
* Choose Responsibility
* Driving under the influence
* Drunk driving in the United States
Drunk driving is the act of operating a motor vehicle with the operator's ability to do so impaired as a result of alcohol consumption, or with a blood alcohol level in excess of the legal limit. For drivers 21 years or older, driving with a bl ...
* Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility
Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), formerly known as the Century Council, is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driv ...
* Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere
* Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
References
{{authority control
Driving under the influence
Non-profit organizations based in Texas
Victims' rights organizations
Organizations established in 1980
Alcohol law in the United States
Political advocacy groups in the United States
Temperance organizations in the United States
1980 establishments in California
Organizations based in Irving, Texas