CHILD ENDANGERMENT
Protecting children is a value most Americans cherish. Yet, despite the fact that substance impaired driving is a violent crime, driving while substance impaired with children in the vehicle is not a commonly acknowledged form of child endangerment or child abuse.
Substance impaired driving with children in the car is a form of child abuse.
Minor children often have no choice as to whether or not they ride with an impaired driver. Caregivers that drive while substance impaired with children in the vehicle are child abusers in their own right and account for the majority of substance impaired driving fatalities among children.
Growing Concern for a Widespread Problem
MADD continues to receive an increasing number of alarming calls from concerned indi- viduals regarding children riding with substance impaired drivers. Many of these calls indicate that reports filed with state agencies are slip- ping through the cracks, putting children at
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