Frenkel & Frenkel, a Dallas law firm, is proud to support MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and its efforts to reduce the number of drivers who operate vehicles while under the influence of alcohol in Texas and throughout the United States. Frenkel & Frenkel, a Dallas law firm, is proud to support MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and its efforts to reduce the number of drivers who operate vehicles while under the influence of alcohol in Texas and throughout the United States. Founded by a grieving mother who daughter died in a crash that involved drunk driver, MADD is the largest nonprofit working not only to protect families from alcohol-impaired drivers, but to reduce underage drinking and to provide support to those families who have lost a loved one or have been injured as a result of an incident involving an impaired driver. History of MADD MADD began thirty years ago when Cari Lightner, the teenage daughter of Candi Lightner, was struck and killed by a drunk driver who already had five drunken driving offenses before he killed Cari. When Candi learned that the man who killed her daughter would receive no jail time, she decided to start MADD. Candi joined forces with Cindi Lamb, a mother whose five-and-a-half month old baby became the nation’s youngest quadriplegic as the result of a crash involving a drunk driver. The women eventually riveted the nation with their impassioned testimony on Capitol Hill, which eventually led to stricter impaired driving laws throughout the United States as the public began to support MADD. Drunk Driving In 2010 more than 10,000 people died in impaired driving crashes while approximately 350,000 were injured. MADD uses several methods to help prevent impaired driving crashes. The group supports sobriety checkpoints, which have helped reduce alcohol-related driving fatalities by 20 percent. Because the average drunk driver has driven impaired more than 80 times before a first arrest, MADD supports the use of ignition interlock devices for those who have been convicted of drunk driving. In order to support MADD, the alcohol industry implemented DADSS, or Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety, which includes development of a touch-based system that reads blood alcohol content and an air-sampling system that tests and isolates breath exhaled by a driver. Underage Drinking Because many young people fail to make informed decisions related to responsible alcohol use, teenagers are more likely to be involved in impaired driving crashes than adults. States support MADD’s efforts to reduce underage drinking by enforcing the minimum drinking age of 21, and charging those who are not old enough with drinking under age. Frenkel & Frenkel is proud to support MADD’s efforts to make our highways safer by reducing impaired drivers and fighting underage drinking. For more information, contact Frenkel & Frenkel or fill out this form.