History Of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

History of Women Against Drunk Driving (WADD)
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History of Women Against Drunk Driving (WADD)
After her daughter, Cali was killed in a hit-and-run drunk driving crash on May 3, 1980; Candace Lighter began to raise public awareness on the dangers of drunk driving. On September 5, 1980, she together with Cindi Lamb, also a mother whose child was a victim of drunk driving crash founded a not for profit organization called Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD). In 1984, the organization changed its name to Mothers Against Drunk “Driving” (MADD) citing their focus on the act of driving as opposed to the individual drunk drivers as the reason behind the change. The organization’s mission was to raise public awareness regarding the dangers of drunk driving, help victims and families of victims affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy. This elaborate and realistic mission propelled MADD to popularity that not only made it grab the attention of the government but also boosted membership in 50 States and various provinces of the neighboring Canada. This research will therefore study the contributions of MADD in the fight against drunk driving, underage drinking and eradication or reduction in the number of drunk driving related deaths in United States and North America countries.
The Devastating Statistics and Its Relevance
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has indicated that United States loses at least 28 lives daily in crash involving a driver under the influence of alcohol (Nady El-Guebaly, 2014). This is a pointer that a substantial percentage of drivers are either Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been working tirelessly since their inceptions to eliminate or drastically reduce this devastating statistics through various programs.
These devastating statistics was very instrumental in the fight against drunk driving and underage drinking as it revamped MADD efforts towards eradication of the alarming cases of deaths resulting from drunk drive crash. These programs have not only proved viable but have borne a number of fruits.
Using the statistics, MADD operated from a point of knowledge in addressing the vice. The statistics also brought to the attention of the government and the general public the seriousness with which the problem of drunk driving should be dealt with. The CDC report made MADD appealing to the public and led to the establishment its Chapters throughout the United States and various provinces in Canada. The contributions and influence of MADD in the fight against drunk driving, drinking, elimination and reduction of drunk drive related deaths can be categorized into three broad areas. These include legislative measures, influence on social norms and preventive efforts to bring positive change.
Influence on Public Policy and Legislation
In efforts to address the glaring monster of driving impaired related deaths and underage alcoholism, MADD developed a range of result oriented programs. They did this through the influential roles it played in the formulation of policies and legislation on alcohol related issues. Its campaigns were instrumental in the enactment of National Minimum Legal Drinking Act (MLDA) passed in 1984 which raised the legal drinking age to 21 (As Bridge M., and Flam-Zalcman R., et al, 2001). They are also credited for the restless campaigns that largely contributed to the passing of over 1000 alcohol related laws both at local and national level.
These laws laid in no uncertain terms strict rules as regards the purchase, selling and consumption of alcohol in United States. In addition to rising the legal drinking age, the laws prescribed a heavy penalty for those found operating outside the statutory prescription. The Minimum Legal Drinking Act forbids persons under the age of 21 from buying or publicly consuming alcohol (As Bridge M., and Flam-Zalcman R., et al, 2004). The enactment of this law was informed particularly by the CDC report that persons between the ages of 16 to 20 constituted a lrge percentage of crash involving driving under the influence of alcohol (Nady El-Guebaly, 2014). This meant that underage and persons between the age of 18- 21 were behind the wheels that claimed the lives of 28 Americans daily.
The rationale behind the severe fines and strict regulations regarding production, distribution and consumption of alcohol beverages was partly a product or input of the MADD. The idea behind the passing of MLDA and the 1000 plus alcohol related legislations were based on the need to not only eradicate underage drinking but to get them out of the roads. Consequently there was a drastic drop by half of the drunk d...