Sobriety Checkpoints Reduce Drunk Driving Fatalities by 20 Percent
04/05/2017
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JEFFERESON CITY (April 5, 2017) — Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is appalled that the Missouri House of Representatives has voted in favor of a proposal to slash funds for lifesaving sobriety checkpoints.
Under HB4 by Representative Scott Fitzpatrick and approved by the House yesterday, sobriety checkpoints would be virtually eliminated because they would receive just $1 in funding in 2018.
HB4 will now be sent to the Senate for approval. MADD is urging Senators to remove the amendment limiting the funding for sobriety checkpoints, which have resulted in 4,152 arrests in Missouri over the past three years.
“MADD is concerned and appalled that the Missouri House has chosen to use the budget to enact and change laws to include limiting funding for a lifesaving tool to $1,” said Meghan Carter, executive director of MADD Missouri. “MADD believes that a life is worth more than $1, and sobriety checkpoints are not only effective in removing impaired drivers from our roadways, but mostly serve as a proven deterrent to drunk driving.”
Sobriety checkpoints reduce drunk driving fatalities by 20 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Earlier this month, law enforcement officials in Missouri conducted sobriety checkpoints around the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and as a result 66 people were arrested in Kansas City.
“The recent sobriety checkpoints underscore why we need to keep them in Missouri,” said Carter. “Why would legislators want to eliminate a drunk driving countermeasure that clearly is working?”
About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded in 1980 by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. MADD has helped to save more than 350,000 lives, reduce drunk driving deaths by more than 50 percent and promote designating a non-drinking driver. MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® calls for law enforcement support, ignition interlocks for all offenders and advanced vehicle technology. MADD has provided supportive services to nearly one million drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge through local victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. Visit www.madd.org or call 1-877-ASK-MADD.
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