Last week, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) updated the public on the growing success of its Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving by releasing a 2014 Report to the Nation. The report highlights legislative accomplishments and state-by-state drunk driving law changes affected by the Campaign.
MADD launched the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving in 2006 in response to the more than 13,000 people who were being killed each year as a result of drunk driving. The campaign aims to eliminate drunk driving and save lives by encouraging high-visibility law enforcement activities, enactment of all-offender ignition interlock laws, and development of in-car technologies that automatically and passively detect alcohol.
Since launching the Campaign, MADD has influenced positive changes in drunk driving laws and prevention across the U.S. Here are a few highlights of the Campaign’s accomplishments:
- 20 states require all convicted drunk drivers, including first-time offenders, to install an ignition interlock in their vehicles (up from 1 state in 2006)
- All 50 states have some form of ignition interlock law (up from 45)
- Some states with all-offender interlock laws have decreased DUI deaths by over 30%
- 32 states participate in no-refusal activities (up from 0 in 2006)
- Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADDS), a mere concept in 2006, is now authorized and funded by the United States Congress
The Campaign report also rates each state on a five-star scale. Each star a state earns represents the enactment of a particular law or participation in a proven drunk driving countermeasure. The five laws and countermeasures include:
- Requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers
- Using sobriety checkpoints
- Enacting child endangerment laws that feature higher penalties than those for a regular drunk driving offense
- Participating in no-refusal activities
- Using Administrative License Revocation for drunk driving offenders
See how your state is doing by viewing the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving: 2014 Report to the Nation. If your state has yet to adopt any of the above drunk driving countermeasures, take a moment to help eliminate drunk driving by sending a letter of support to your state’s legislators.