Awareness Programs

There are many anti-drunk driving organizations in the United States, all with more or less the same goal: to prevent alcohol and drug-related traffic incidents. Roughly 33% of Americans are involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. In 2006, the number of people who died in a traffic crash involving alcohol accounted for 41% of the total number of traffic fatalities. That same year, 1.46 million arrests were made concerning people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The best known of all the anti-drunk driving organization is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). The group, a nonprofit organization based in Irving, Texas, also has a branch in Canada. This initiative was started in 1980 with goals to stop drunk driving, support the victims of drunk driving crimes, and prevent underage drinking. Over the years, the organization has expanded its work greatly, especially in the area of preventing underage drinking. Since the group's inception, MADD has helped pass thousands of anti-drunk driving laws and made the use of designated drivers acceptable amongst mainstream society.

MADD educates people about drunk driving and offers assistance and support to victims of drunk driving. The group strongly supports the illegal blood alcohol content level of 0.08% and was very prominently involved in the campaign to reduce the legal BAC level from 0.10% to 0.08%.

The group believes in lowering the allowable BAC level and employing mandatory jail sentences, ignition interlock devices, and license suspension for repeat offenders. MADD believes in and works to maintain the legal drinking age (21 years of age) without any exceptions for religious, medical, health or cultural reasons.

A popular anti-drunk driving youth organization is Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). This organization is a peer-to-peer education program that aims to prevent alcohol use and abuse in the United States. The goal is to give students the best prevention and intervention tools possible so that they can intelligently deal with common issues, such as underage drinking and other drug usage, as well as impaired driving and related destructive behaviors. SADD has over 10,000 chapters in middle schools, high schools, and colleges in the United States.

SADD started off by getting young people to say no to drinking and driving, but through the years, the organization has expanded its mission statement. Currently, it works to prevent all types of destructive decisions, such as underage drinking, drug use, impaired driving, teen violence, depression, and suicide.

Doctors for Designated Drivers (DFDD) is another anti-drunk driving organization. Its purpose is to increase the safety of other drivers and the general public by promoting the use of designated drivers. DFDD represents the medical community in the campaign to prevent alcohol related traffic incidents. The organization works with members of the hospitality industry to promote its cause.