The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

See also Conservatism in U.S. politics; Elections in
the United States, 1980; Elections in the United
States, 1984; Elections in the United States, 1988;
Falwell, Jerry;Hustler Magazine v. Falwell; Reagan,
Ronald; Religion and spirituality in the United States;
Robertson, Pat; Supreme Court decisions; Televan-
gelism; Women’s rights.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving

(MADD)

Identification Grassroots organization working to
reduce drunk driving
Date Founded in 1980

In response to an increasing number of deaths, particularly
among adolescents, MADD was founded to educate the
public about the dangers of drunk driving and to advocate
for stronger drunk driving laws. Initially, the group fo-
cused the bulk of its efforts on raising the national mini-
mum drinking age to twenty-one; those efforts succeeded in
1984.

Candy Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk
Driving (MADD) in 1980, following the death of her
thirteen-year-old daughter Cari in Fair Oaks, Califor-
nia. Cari was walking to school when she was struck
from behind by a drunk driver who had three prior
drunk-driving convictions and was out on bail follow-
ing a hit-and-run arrest two days earlier. Within the
first year of operation, two MADD chapters were es-
tablished in California and Maryland. One of MADD’s
first high-profile activities was meeting with members
of Congress and the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) in Washington, D.C., to ad-
vocate for stronger traffic safety laws and regulations.
In 1982, President Ronald Reagan invited MADD to
be part of the newly formed Presidential Commission
on Drunk Driving. MADD supported a law sponsored
by Representatives Jim Howard and Mike Barnes that
set aside some federal highway funds to provide to
states tosupport anti-drunk driving efforts. MADD also
backed a lawthat established the first National Drunk
and Drugged Driving Awareness Week in December
of 1982.
In 1983, the National Broadcasting Company
(NBC) produced a made-for-television movie about
MADD, significantly increasing the group’s profile
and resulting in the addition of more chapters. In
1984, one of MADD’s first goals was realized, when

President Reagan signed the bill raising the national

drinking age to twenty-one into law. The organiza-

tion would later file an amicus brief with the Su-

preme Court when the law’s constitutionality was

challenged. With the law passed, MADD branched

out into other forms of advocacy and support, while

maintaining its lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. In

1987, the organization launched its national 1-800-

GET-MADD hotline to provide victim support. In

1988, again with MADD’s support, the Omnibus

Anti-Drug Abuse Act extended the same compensa-

tion rights offered to victims of other crimes to all

victims of drunk drivers.

Impact When MADD was founded in 1980, more

than 28,000 people were dying each year in alcohol-

related crashes. During the first five years following

passage of the law raising the minimum drinking

age, an estimated 5,491 lives were saved. By the end

of the 1980’s, the grassroots organization had grown

to more than 330 chapters in forty-seven states. It

stood as an example of the power of grassroots orga-

nizing to change both laws and behavior in the

United States.

Further Reading

Jacobs, James.Drunk Driving: An American Dilemma.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Kirk, Milo.Let Them Live: How Underage Drinking Affects

Family and Friends, and Solutions to the Problem. Irving,

Tex.: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 1992.

Ross, Laurence.Confronting Drunk Driving: Social Pol-

icy for Saving Lives.Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 1992.

Mar y McElroy

See also Drug Abuse Resistance Education

(D.A.R.E.); Just Say No campaign.

Mötley Crüe

Identification Heavy metal band

Date Formed in 1980-1981

Heavy metal was a major musical force in much of the

world in the 1980’s, and the most popular style of metal was

glam (glamour) metal. Mötley Crüe did not originate the

glam look or sound but played a major role in developing the

glam scene, and the band’s widespread popularity ulti-

mately influenced nearly ever y metal band that followed.

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Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) The Eighties in America