MADD Spearheads Awareness Efforts to Prevent Tragedies This Holiday Weekend
IRVING, Texas Aug. 26, 2024 / – Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) expects a spike in impaired driving deaths and injuries during Labor Day weekend, which ranks among the deadliest holidays on our nation’s roads and waterways. As labor Day approaches, MADD cautions the public with a lifesaving message: Don’t drive impaired.
In 2022, there were 490 crash fatalities nationwide over the Labor Day holiday period – 39% of which involved a drunk driver, according to the latest data from the National Highway Traffice Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Alcohol was also the leading factor in fatal boating crashes in 2022, causing 16% of all fatalities, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
MADD is working with law enforcement agencies across the country to increase sobriety checkpoints, which reduces drunk driving deaths by up to 20%, according to the U.S. CDC. These prevention efforts coincide with the NHTSA’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign.
While impaired driving crashes increases over Labor Day weekend, this public health crisis plagues the nation year-round. 2 out of 3 people will be impacted by drunk driving in their lifetime. Every 78 seconds, someone is killed or injured in a drunk driving crash in the U.S. Drunk driving fatalities have increased by 33% since 2019. According to NHTSA, more than 13,400 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2022.
MADD firmly believes impaired driving can be eliminated with lifesaving technology. The HALT Act, passed in November 2021, requires a new national safety standard for advanced impaired driving prevention systems in all new cars. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is tasked with establishing regulations for this technology by November 15, 2024 – a quickly approaching deadline. The law then requires car manufacturers to integrate the technology in new wehicles as soon as 2026. This technology will save more than 10,000 lives per year and prevent hundreds of thousands of injuries, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nonprofit leader in a movement to create a world where there are #NoMoreVictims of impaired driving, by working in collaboration with law enforcement to end underage drinking and all drunk and drugged driving, MADD has helped reduce drunk driving by more than 50%, saving more than 475,000 lives. The organization is vocal advocate for stricter sentencing, new laws and new technology, including implementation of the HALT Act. MADD also has provided supportive services to nearly 1 million victims of drunk and drugged driving at no charge through local victim advocates and its 24-hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. For more information or to donate, visit us at https://madd.org/ and follow MADD on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Media Contact
Katie Alvino, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD), 877.275.6233, [email protected], https://madd.org.
