As the holiday season quickly approaches, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is launching their Tie One on for Safety Holiday Campaign to remind drivers that drinking and driving never mix well. From November 16 to December 31, their campaign encourages you to be or designate a sober driver when you are out driving as your decisions behind the wheel can affect the lives of everyone around you.
First started in 1986, the campaign is MADD’s longest running initiative. Every holiday season, MADD pushes for drivers to display a red ribbon anywhere visible on their vehicle that symbolizes a sober driver while also encouraging others to refrain from driving under the influence.
MADD reminds us that the act of driving drunk is never an accident. When we drink and drive, we are not only putting ourselves at risk, but also we are not thinking about the consequences of our actions. What’s important is the safety of you and your fellow drivers because at the end of the day, it’s better to be home late and alive than become another victim of this preventable act.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], drunk driving deaths in the United States have been halved since MADD was founded in 1980. Since then, MADD has worked to help prevent individuals from driving under the influence including work to raise the minimum drinking age to 21.
Drunk driving has continually been the number one cause of death on our roadways, according to MADD. Every day there are over 300,000 incidents involving a driver driving under the influence. Take those daily incidents and MADD estimates that over 290,000 injuries and over 10,500 deaths result from DUI crashes per year.
In California, it is an epidemic that does not seem to have an end. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety Annual Report in 2017, DUI fatalities in the state have increased over 15 percent from 2015 to 2016. In 2016, drunk driving accidents accounted for 29 percent of all traffic accidents in California, and a total of 1,059 people were lost due to one horrid decision.
Nationally, MADD statistics from last year during this holiday phase of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years’ Day state that 1,068 people were killed in drunk driving crashes which accounts for about 29 percent of all the traffic fatalities during this time also. According to MADD, we share the road with more than 300,000 admitted drunk drivers each day. Just think, those are just the self-admitted drivers, who knows how many more we still pass on our roadways daily.
According to NHTSA in 2017, 15% of all drivers involved in fatal crashes during the week were drunk, and on the weekends, this stat jumps to 28%. Furthermore, drugs including medical marijuana, cocaine and prescription drugs like codeine in 2010 alone contributed to over 15% of driver deaths.
While the only way to prevent drunk driving is to refrain from it ourselves, the fact is driving under the influence should never be an initial thought. Thousands of victims emerge every year to tell their story of how they narrowly escaped death or how they lost a loved one to drunk driving. No matter what story we hear, the common message among them is to help prevent other similar tragedies. MADD wants to ensure everyone’s loved ones make it home for the holidays and by practicing sober driving, you can help them achieve their goal.
To participate in the Tie One on for Safety Holiday Campaign, MADD made a list of things people can do to observe the campaign: at your holiday parties, ask guests to donate to MADD instead of bringing a hostess gift, distribute Tie One On for Safety ribbons, designate a sober driver and don’t drink and drive.
You can also use #MADDTieOneOnForSafety to share on social media. For more information on how you can support MADD and Tie One on for Safety Holiday Campaign, visit madd.org/the-solution/drunk-driving/tie-one-on-for-safety/.