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the project. Late in 2016, the state of Virginia announced an exciting plan to invest $5.1 million to advance the development and deployment of DADSS. MADD National President Colleen Sheehey-Church also joined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in September to announce new federal guidelines for autonomous vehicle technology. Autonomous technology — when fully driverless — will stop impaired driving and save lives. We recognize that law enforcement is our first line of defense, and we stand with our law enforcement heroes who are on road patrol and at sobriety checkpoints as they put their own safety on the line to protect the public. NHTSA’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaigns provide critical resources to police departments, and MADD showed its support by strongly advocating for and participating in these efforts in 2016. As we move forward into our second decade with MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving , we remain laser-focused on the blueprint that will end drunk driving — high-visibility law enforcement, ignition interlocks for all offenders, advanced vehicle technology and public support for all of these proven initiatives. Death Notification Training for First Responders Informing someone that a drunk driver has killed a loved one requires special skills and a compassionate heart. For nearly 30 years, MADD has been teaching first responders highly-specialized Death Notification Training. As a victim services organization, we offer this unique training to equip first responders with the proper tools to handle the difficult task of telling a person their loved one was killed, in a sensitive and supportive way. In 2016, MADD conducted nine trainings throughout the country, allowing us to train more than 400 first responders. MADD is grateful to all first responders for the work they continue to do. Court Monitoring MADD’s Court Monitoring program grew in 2016, as more than 8,000 new cases were entered into MADD’s National Court Monitoring Database by court monitoring staff and volunteers. Many more volunteers served in this program in various roles as well. We empowered them through quarterly training calls to better understand the differences in judiciary structures and sentencing rules from state to state. By the end of 2016, more than 56,000 cases were entered or imported into the national database due to funding provided by the NHTSA in 2015. This allowed ample opportunity to observe DUI proceedings in the judicial system, nationally and at the state and local levels. Program Updates
Ending Drunk Driving
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