Mission

MADD is a 501(c)(3) non-profit grass roots organization with more than 400 entities nationwide. MADD is not a crusade against alcohol consumption - MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking.

History

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) was founded by two grief-stricken moms who turned tragedy into courage and joined forces to promote a national movement focused on putting a stop to drunk driving. Since its founding in 1980, MADD has grown to more than 400 entities nationwide. Yet it is still true to its volunteer heritage and overwhelmingly a grassroots organization, with more than 3,500 active volunteers.

MADD helps save lives through education, awareness, and advocacy for the passage and enforcement of anti-drunk driving and underage drinking laws. We provide critical emotional support for survivors, family members and friends coping with the devastation caused by a drunk driving crash.

Our mission is to stop drunk driving, support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage drinking. The organization is governed by a national board of directors, and has a national office staff in Irving, Texas, and Washington, D.C., who work collectively to provide local affiliates and state chapters with training, resources and information so they can provide MADD services and programs across the nation.

A National Problem

Drunk driving is the nation’s most frequently committed violent crime despite being 100 percent preventable. On average, someone is killed every half hour in alcohol-related crashes. In 2007, nearly 13,000 people died in drunk driving crashes and a half million were injured, many permanently. In Massachusetts 134 people were killed in 2005 in a drunk driving crash, representing 30% of all highway fatalities in the Commonwealth. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that during our lifetime three in ten people will be killed or injured by a drunk driver.

Our children are at great risk also. Almost 1,600 children were passengers killed in traffic crashes in 2003. Of these, 21 percent were killed in alcohol-related crashes and 13 percent while riding with a drinking driver. Unlike most adult victims, these children had no choice but to ride with an impaired driver, and they paid the ultimate price. Furthermore, underage drinking is America’s No. 1 youth drug problem, killing more people under the age of 21 than all other illicit drugs combined.