Megan Hamilton
POLS 1100
Paper #1
The interest group that I belong to is M.A.D.D. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is the nation‟s
largest nonprofit organization and was incorporated on September 5, 1980; MADD was started by a group
of mothers that were outraged with drunk drivers. The mother who started this organization lost her 13 year
old daughter to a drunk driver. She pledged that she would find a solution to drunk driving, which inspired a
handful of grieving mothers to join in on the cause. These mothers were going to do something about this
outrage. They went to government officials, they got support from agencies, they were determined to stop
drunk driving; and through much difficulty, long hours working, they finally got noticed and things started
happening. And this was just the beginning.
MADD’s Mission statement
MADD has had different mission statements throughout the years to help people understand what
it is that we do. Our most up to date mission statement says this: “The mission of Mothers Against Drunk
Driving is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.”
MADD‟s work has saved nearly 300,000 lives, and still counting.
MADD Reaching Out and Helping Others
MADD has helped in a variety of different ways to help victims and survivors of drunk driving. One
way that MADD has supported these victims and survivors is by letting them call a MADD help line at no
charge, and we help one person every 9 minutes.i
Another way that we help eliminate drunk driving is by supporting our law enforcements who keep
our roads safe. By having law enforcement up to date with the things we do, they are able to let drivers
know that they are out there on the roads and they will catch you if you are driving under the influence and
by letting people know this, we are hoping that it will discourage people to get behind the wheel impaired.
MADD has helped in the process of requiring convicted drunk drivers to prove that they are sober.
One of these devices is an in-car-breathalyzer. The driver has to blow into the breathalyzer, before his car
will start.
A new technology that MADD is a part of is turning „cars into the cure‟. MADD has teamed up with
government, traffic safety advocates, and the automotive industry to come up with a new technology that
will stop a driver who is under the influence to operate the car. In today‟s cars, we have equipped them with
being able to parallel park at the touch of a button, and have anti-theft sensors that shut down the engine. If
we can do something like this in our cars, I honestly believe that we can put a system that will not let a
driver operate his car without having to breathe into a breathalyzer. And in tomorrow‟s cars, this
advancement will help save the lives of many.
Statistics
Drunk driving fatalities declined 12 percent from 2006 to 2008 ii; this shows that we have saved
lives in just those two years. But there are still too many people dying in drunk driving accidents, and in
2009, 10,839 people were killed. iii By 2012, our goal is to reduce drunk driving fatalities below 10,000.
Drunk driving is not an incurable disease like some cancers. This is something that we can
prevent. We can‟t tell a person to not drink, but we do have the ability to stop these people from driving. By
having designated drivers, breathalyzers, and introducing new technology in cars, it can save many lives.
Just think that one day, you or a loved one could be involved in a drunk driving accident. Wouldn‟t it be nice
to be able to know that there are ways to stop this from happening, and wouldn‟t you like to join this cause?
i
MADD.org/About Us/Our goals and strategies
MADD.org/about-us/our goals/ drunk driving
iii
MADD.org/about-us/our goals/drunk driving
ii