ADVOCACY
Thousands of MADD advocates contacted their representatives in Congress and urged them to vote “no.”
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking – After two years of MADD victims and survivors, volunteers, partners, and staff calling for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish regulations for equipping all new vehicles with advanced impaired driving prevention technology, the federal government announced the first significant action to implement the HALT Act on December 12, 2023, with an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). MADD activated its network of advocates to contact the government to urge prioritization of the rulemaking, which is required by the Honoring the Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate (HALT) Drunk Driving Act signed into law in 2021. The HALT Act is named in memory of five family members
them to vote “no” on the Massie amendment. Victims and survivors and MADD staff met virtually with Members of Congress and their staff to share how this violent crime has impacted their lives and why this lifesaving technology is important to them.
existing ignition interlock law to ensure more offenders are ordered to use them before their full driving privileges are restored. These new laws culminated years of advocacy in both states by committed victims and survivors. Bentley’s Law – Texas, Kentucky and Maine joined Tennessee in passing their versions of Bentley’s Law to require impaired driving offenders who kill a parent or guardian to pay child support or restitution to the surviving children. Kentucky’s “Melanie’s Law” added eligibility for children of severely injured patents. Bentley’s Law was created by Cecilia Williams and named after her grandson, Bentley, whose father Cordell, mother Lacey and 4-month-old brother Cordell II were killed in a crash in 2021. Cecilia’s story has resonated across the nation and sparked a national movement to pass this law in honor of the innocent children left behind by someone’s choice to drive while impaired. Traffic Safety Enforcement – With funding for traffic safety enforcement at risk in Colorado, MADD mobilized to advocate for high-visibility enforcement focused on hazardous driving that is proven to result in safer roads and reduced inequities in traffic stops. The proposed cuts to law enforcement funding in Colorado reflects challenges across the country to preserve traffic safety enforcement while reducing disparities in traffic stops.
from Michigan – Rima and Issam Abbas and their children Ali, Isabella and Giselle – who were killed by a drunk driver in Kentucky on their way home from a Florida vacation. The law requires completion of the rulemaking by November 2024 and sets a two- to three-year deadline for auto makers to begin manufacturing passive, unobtrusive impaired driving prevention technology into all new vehicles. Massie Amendment – Prior to the ANPRM announcement in December, a misguided attempt by Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) to block funding for the HALT Act implementation ignited a rapid mobilization by MADD, victims and survivors and partners who rallied to help successfully defeat it. Thousands of MADD advocates contacted their representatives in Congress and urged Chief Government Affairs Officer Stephanie Manning, Vickie Brown, whose 12-year-old son Darius was killed by a drunk driver, Kristine Villatoro, whose daughter Anna was killed in an impaired driving crash, and MADD Program Manager Jennifer Hamilton at the ANPRM announcement in Washington, D.C.
Ignition Interlock Laws – MADD’s movement to help pass laws in every state that require drunk driving offenders to install ignition interlocks after the first offense and all subsequent offenses successfully added South Carolina, bringing the total number of states with all-offender ignition interlock laws to 35. In addition, the team in Louisiana substantially strengthened an far right, and Melanie Hull’s family. Kentucky’s version of “Bentley’s Law” is named for Melanie, who was severely injured in a crash. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signs “Melanie’s Law,” with Cecilia Williams,
MADD mobilized thousands of victims and survivors to tell NHTSA why it’s important to build impaired driving prevention technology into all new cars.
5 I IMPACT REPORT 2023
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