Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) begins
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by Candy Lightner after the tragic death of her daughter, Cari, who was killed by a drunk driver. The organization emerged in response to the severe impact of drunk driving and aimed to advocate for stronger traffic safety laws. Within its first year, MADD established chapters in California and Maryland and quickly gained attention by engaging with lawmakers and traffic safety officials in efforts to promote legislative change. The group played a key role in the establishment of the National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week and supported legislation that raised the national drinking age to 21.
MADD's visibility increased significantly after a television movie about its mission aired in 1983, leading to the formation of additional chapters across the country. The organization also launched a hotline to provide support for victims of drunk driving incidents. MADD's advocacy has been credited with saving thousands of lives and reducing alcohol-related fatalities, exemplifying the effectiveness of grassroots movements in influencing public policy and societal behavior regarding drunk driving. Today, MADD continues its mission to eliminate drunk driving and support affected families, promoting awareness and prevention strategies nationwide.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) begins
Identification Grassroots organization working to reduce drunk driving
Date Founded in 1980
In response to an increasing number of deaths, particularly among adolescents, MADD was founded to educate the public about the dangers of drunk driving and to advocate for stronger drunk driving laws. Initially, the group focused the bulk of its efforts on raising the national minimum drinking age to twenty-one; those efforts succeeded in 1984.
Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in 1980, following the death of her thirteen-year-old daughter Cari in Fair Oaks, California. Cari was walking to school when she was struck from behind by a drunk driver who had three prior drunk-driving convictions and was out on bail following a hit-and-run arrest two days earlier. Within the first year of operation, two MADD chapters were established in California and Maryland. One of MADD’s first high-profile activities was meeting with members of Congress and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C., to advocate for stronger traffic safety laws and regulations. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan invited MADD to be part of the newly formed Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving. MADD supported a law sponsored by Representatives Jim Howard and Mike Barnes that set aside some federal highway funds to provide to states to support anti-drunk driving efforts. MADD also backed a law that established the first National Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week in December of 1982.
In 1983, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) produced a made-for-television movie about MADD, significantly increasing the group’s profile and resulting in the addition of more chapters. In 1984, one of MADD’s first goals was realized, when President Reagan signed the bill raising the national drinking age to twenty-one into law. The organization would later file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court when the law’s constitutionality was challenged. With the law passed, MADD branched out into other forms of advocacy and support, while maintaining its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. In 1987, the organization launched its national 1-800-GET-MADD hotline to provide victim support. In 1988, again with MADD’s support, the Omnibus Anti-Drug Abuse Act extended the same compensation rights offered to victims of other crimes to all victims of drunk drivers.
Impact
When MADD was founded in 1980, more than 28,000 people were dying each year in alcohol-related crashes. During the first five years following passage of the law raising the minimum drinking age, an estimated 5,491 lives were saved. By the end of the 1980’s, the grassroots organization had grown to more than 330 chapters in forty-seven states. It stood as an example of the power of grassroots organizing to change both laws and behavior in the United States.
Bibliography
Jacobs, James. Drunk Driving: An American Dilemma. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Kirk, Milo. Let Them Live: How Underage Drinking Affects Family and Friends, and Solutions to the Problem. Irving, Tex.: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 1992.
Ross, Laurence. Confronting Drunk Driving: Social Policy for Saving Lives. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.