December is National Drunk and Drug Impaired Driving Prevention month. As we begin this joyous time when more people are on the road, it is important to know that during this season there are also more impaired drivers on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
“With an increase in holiday parties and festivities, the month of December can be a dangerous time of year for drunk-driving fatalities. In fact, with marijuana use and drugged driving on the rise across the country, it is important to keep watch for all forms of impaired driving. With NHTSA’s support, state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up enforcement to put an end to all forms of impaired driving, showing zero tolerance in an effort to save lives.”
- In 2020, 12.6 million people in the USA (ages 16 and older) drove after using illicit drugs (of that total, 11.7 million people were under the influence of marijuana)
(Source: Get Smart about Drugs website)
- During December 2016-2020, there were more than 4,400 people killed in drunk-driving-related crashes
(Source: Traffic Safety Marketing)
- The average DUI costs $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, and more
(Source: Traffic Safety Marketing)
- Every single impaired driving crash and resulting death is preventable!
Do you know the history of
National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention month?
Since 1981, officials all across America have worked to promote the importance of staying sober while driving during the month of December, proclaiming December as National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month or National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. It all began with one woman and her resolve.
On May 3, 1980, thirteen-year-old Cari Lightner was struck and killed by Clarence Busch in a drunk driving accident. When police arrested Clarence, they found this was not his first offense, even having a hit-and-run drunk driving fine less than a week before his accident with Cari. At the time, driving while intoxicated was a misdemeanor that was barely prosecuted, meaning that Busch was very unlikely to have gone to jail.
This fact motivated Cari’s mother, Candy Lightner, to take action. The result was the beginning of the non-profit organization known as MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. This movement quickly grew across the nation. She pushed for a stricter definition of what drunk driving was, encouraging legislators to pass stricter laws and prosecutions that included jail time and license suspensions, and she was instrumental in having President Ronald Reagan establish 21 years old as the minimum drinking age. Reagan also appointed Lightner as part of a commission that was developed to tackle the issue.
Currently, Lightner continues to advocate for anti-drunk, drugged, and distracted driving legislation as the President of the organization We Save Lives. “I am not against drinking. I am for responsible drinking. We don’t let people walk around with loaded guns in our neighborhood. But we let them drive when they drink.” (Candy Lightner)
Take the Pledge! Promise your loved ones that you will not drive drunk, drugged, or distracted and you will not let them do so either. Become part of the solution that will help eliminate tragedies from happening. Take the Courage to Intervene Pledge Today!
