By: DUI lawyer William C. Head, drunk driving lawyer since 1976 and founder of DrunkDrivingDefense.com, America’s oldest DWI and DUI lawyer defense directory
In 1980, Mothers Against Drunk Driving emerged from one mother’s determination to transform personal tragedy into nationwide change, becoming the most effective advocacy organization in highway safety history by bringing drunk driving awareness to national attention. Their platform was firmly based on the recognition that prior efforts at drunk driving prevention had fallen short. In addition, they wanted to create strategies to prevent drunk driving
History of MADD & DUI Prevention
Since 1980, hundreds of thousands more drunk driving victims have been tallied across the United States. While the number of drunk driving related deaths has dropped due to modern inventions like ridesharing, the numbers of deaths continue each year to be very high.
The fatal effects of drunk driving in so many cases each year spurred state legislatures to pass laws mandating the use of alcohol interlock devices (in many states) to be able to regain driving privileges after being convicted of a impaired driving. The nightly news stories in major population cities are quick to report drunk driving wrecks, especially when a celebrity or a politician is the one arrested.
MADD has created and rolled out many different marketing campaigns to highlight the consequences of drunk driving. Multiple different drunk driving advertising campaigns have been launched and promoted with varying results.
Plus, even though DUI drugs or DUI marijuana have grown, driving under the influence of alcohol is the biggest killer. In 2025, a DUI conviction (in some states, e.g., Georgia, Maine, ) cannot EVER be removed from that person’s criminal record.
Their most memorable slogan may have been “friends don’t let friends drive drunk!” This photo of a horse and drunk rider was commonly seen with the slogan.
To ready an excellent news report on the MADD journey, this California news story covers it very well. The emergence of MADD and similar organizations has drunk driving articles led to more publicity in the past 45 years that any other motor vehicle safety campaigns.
Transforming Tragedy into Life-Saving Action Since 1980
Every 40 minutes, someone in the United States dies in a drunk driving crash. Thousands are killed, and many more are injured each year due to alcohol-impaired driving.
This kind of driving causes many traffic deaths in the U.S. It is important to work on preventing these crashes. This can help reduce these tragic outcomes.
In every state, drunk driving death stories are told to audiences by MADD supporters to bring home the fact that drunk driving is an “equal opportunity” killer on our highways. The numbers show that driving high vs driving drunk both pose great risks, but (due to the much higher numbers of alcohol-related deaths) alcohol remains the primary DWI vs DUI cause of wrecks.
Behind each statistic lies a family forever changed, a community scarred by preventable loss, and the devastating impact of death resulting from impaired driving. Often, a local news story about underage drunk driving deaths will make the local news, to highlight that driving under the influence can be an equal opportunity killer.
Drunk Driving Statistics and Trends
Drunk driving is still a big cause of traffic deaths in the United States. Drunk driving crashes account for almost one-third of all motor vehicle deaths each year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 11,654 people died in drunk driving crashes in 2020.
The report shows that, even with progress, impaired driving still takes many lives each year. On average, someone dies in a drunk driving crash every 45 minutes. This makes it a constant threat to highway safety.
A key factor in impaired driving is blood alcohol concentration (BAC). It is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Utah lowered its adult BAC level to 0.05% less than 5 years ago. This made Utah the first state in the USA to pass this strict DUI law. This law helps ensure more arrests for intoxicated driving, whether the person was impaired or not.
Statistics show that with higher BAC levels, the chance of being in a fatal crash increases. Drivers with a BAC of 0.15% or more are at least 12 times more likely to be in a deadly crash than sober drivers.
Many repeat offenders have these higher BAC levels, since they develop higher tolerances for the alcohol they are consuming. These repeat offenders make up a large part of convicted drunk drivers, almost one-third in many states.
Drunk driving statistics show that young adults, especially those aged 21 to 25, are very likely to drive drunk. Underage drinking is still a big problem. Many young people admit to driving after drinking alcohol, even though the legal drinking age is 21.
Alcohol-related crashes among underage drivers have gone down since the drinking age was raised. However, underage drinking and driving still cause preventable deaths and injuries.
How MADD’s Advocacy Has Made a Difference
MADD has won important laws and changed culture, cutting drunk driving deaths by over 50% since 1980. We use a smart approach that mixes grassroots activism with data-driven policy work.
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 raised the legal drinking age to 21. This change could be saving many thousands of young lives each year.
In addition, and the direction of NHTSA, the federal government pushed for 0.08% Blood Alcohol Concentration laws to be enacted in all states, for adult age drivers. Starting with President Bill Clinton signing legislation in late 2000, on his way out of office, the adult BAC in all states across America was “forced” to be lowered to 0.08 grams percent or less in all states.
By 2005, all 50 states had adopted these new laws, which greatly reduced fatal crashes related to alcohol. Plus, in 2025, the criminal defense law topic of drunk driving defense is one of the most lucrative for the few DUI attorneys or DWI lawyers
- Ignition Interlock Advocacy – This movement over the past decade and a half led to laws that require these devices in all states. They help stop repeat drunk drivers from driving.
- Victim Impact Programs – These programs include court monitoring and victim impact panels. They help lower repeat offenses among convicted drunk drivers by imposing a license suspension and requiring those convicted drivers to utilize an interlock device for some period of time before getting full driving privileges back.
- Community Education Campaigns – These campaigns reach millions each year through schools, workplaces, and public awareness efforts.
What Makes MADD’s Approach Unique
The Power of Youth Program
MADD teaches more than 1 million high school students every year. MADD’s focus on the dangers of underage drinking alcohol and then engaging in impaired driving has done a marvelous job is spreading driving safety awareness.
- Tie One on for Safety Campaign – This holiday campaign aims to reach 25 million people. It raises awareness about the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving.
- Walk Like MADD Events – These community walks happen in over 90 cities. They raise more than $3 million each year to honor victims and survivors.
- Red Ribbon Week Partnerships – We work with schools across the country. This is part of the largest drug prevention campaign in the United States.
- Technology Initiatives – Supporting research on passive alcohol detection systems, interlock devices to limit a person on probation from driving any vehicle without an IID (ignition interlock device) for breath testing before ignition can be accomplished and better vehicle safety features.
- Court Monitoring Programs – Trained volunteers attend drunk driving trials and criminal plea dates to ensure that fair sentences are being handed down and that help for victims is being ordered by judges.
Use our National Map to Locate your DWI-DUI Attorney
The author of this article has two law partners. Larry Kohn, a drunk driving attorney since 1998, has 600 AVVO client reviews.
Cory Yager, former law enforcement officer turned DUI attorney near me in the Peach State, arrested nearly 1000 people for DUI offenses in nearly a decade of law enforcement work, and now is one of the State of Georgia’s top DUI defense attorneys, with 18 years under his belt.
Attorneys from the Firm travel statewide across Georgia providing legal representation to those accused in DUI-DWI cases.
Dial our national number, 1-888-839-4384, to get top shelf legal representation for your case.
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