2017 Initiatives: Organizations Against Teen Drunk Driving

There are multiple teenage drunk driving organizations throughout the U.S. and around the world. Many of the activists working with these organizations have lost sons, daughters, siblings and friends in tragic accidents and are devoted to campaigning to prevent another family from experiencing the same heartache. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is perhaps the most famous of all teenage drunk driving organizations. MADD was founded in 1980. In the nearly 40 years since that time, deaths related to drunk driving have been reduced to almost half of what they were in 1980. MADD works with legislators to promote policies that protect drivers, such as Texas’ recent ignition interlock law. This law allows drunk driving offenders to have a special lock installed in their car that will not allow the vehicle to be operated by someone with a blood alcohol content over the safe limit. Other teenage drunk driving organizations include: Fathers Against Drunk Driving (FADD) Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) The Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free Foundation We Save Lives (WSL) The National Youth Recovery Foundation (NYRF) Young People in Recovery (YPR) International Drunk Drinking Prevention Association (IDDPA) Recording Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving (RADD) There are also local chapters of these and other organizations that teens and their schools or families may wish to be involved in. With the rise of technology, teenage drunk driving organizations have also turned their attention to other dangerous issues, such as texting while driving. The message is clear: driving is a high-risk activity and fatal crashes can happen in seconds. Never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and don’t drive distracted. Source https://www.samhsa.gov/underage-drinking/partners