MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING

Mothers against Drunk Driving

Mothers against Drunk Driving

Introduction

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), incorporated in 1980, is a U.S.-based organization with a mission to stop drunk driving, prevent underage alcohol consumption, and offer support to victims. With approximately 2 million members, volunteers, and supporters and an annual budget of over $50 million, MADD has established itself as a respected, yet controversial, advocacy group. Candy Lightner founded MADD after her daughter, Cari, was killed by a repeat drunk-driving offender (Grunig, 1983). Cindy Lamb—whose daughter, Laura, became the nation's youngest quadriplegic as a result of a drunk driving crash—soon joined Lightner to strengthen state laws against driving while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Despite its name, MADD is open to men, women, and children (www.madd.org, 2011).

Discussion

Effectiveness of the Program

MADD's mission is to "to stop drunk driving and to support victims of this violent crime." In pursuing its mission throughout its fifteen years, MADD has adopted specific public policy and legislative goals and has developed and promoted numerous programs. The group has been strongly identified with efforts to change legislation, but programs to educate the public about the hazards of impaired driving and to provide support to crash victims have been equally important. Support for vigorous enforcement led to close working relationships with law enforcement officials. The group has increasingly focused on programs which can save more lives from crash involvement, deaths and injuries.

The research and studies produced that monitored the effects of underage drinking led many campaigns to prevent underage drinking. MADD was not the only organization, but did appear to have success which can be seen in its campaigns for drinking and driving alone (Grunig, 1983). The campaign for prevention of underage drinking developed because of safety reasons. Underage drinking put young adults and adolescents at risk for not only health reasons, but also their future in life.

Driving while intoxicated does not add up. It is very unsafe, costly, and stupid. It so straightforward to bypass it if you are educated. If half the persons who have there permit knew the punishments for getting apprehended, numerous persons would not manage it. Over the last couple of decades, the number of drunk driving has expanded enormously. The only way to halt this from next its past convention is to lay down a regulation to lastingly take away a driver's permit away if ever apprehended consuming and driving. It is an essential step that our homeland desires to take in alignment to decline the number of damages, number of persons with awful judgment abilities from driving, and the number of drunk driving. Drunk driving is certain thing that desires to be stopped. There should not be any more family constituents and associates pain from intolerable agony of mislaying a loved one to an irresponsible, heedless, and unkind person going by car who determined to drink and drive.

Philosophy and Goals of Program

MADD created the program Youth In Action “to prevent underage drinking by reducing the social and retail availability of ...