Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Summer is even more of a time than usual for the potential to drive while intoxicated, which means more things for Mothers Against Drunk Driving to urge the public to be aware of, and stop.
Kristi Hosea, Regional Manager of Victim Services for MADD Illinois, tells the WTAX Morning Newswatch it’s just as dangerous to operate a boat and an ATV after you’ve had some alcohol to drink, as it is driving a car.
“It’s even kind of worse because when you’re in a boat or an ATV, you’re often in the sun, and it’s hot, and you’re doing activity with lots of people,” said Hosea. “We ask people to just be safe. Get your boat checked out. Get your ATV checked out. Take classes. We’re partnering with (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) this year to get that message out.”
Being someone who has lost a loved one to a drunk driving crash never gets easier.
Jenny Sanderfield lost her cousin Amy Thomas — an elementary school teacher — in 2013 due to a drunk driving crash., when she and three friends were coming back to the area from Eastern Illinois University.
“It’s a struggle some days,” said Sanderfield. “She would have two nieces and two nephews. Even though she was my cousin, my two children would have been hers, too.”
Sanderfield volunteers and advocates for the prevention of drunk driving crashes through Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She says like others who have experienced loss, she just lives day by day.
Among the things MADD continues to support, is a law passed in 2021 requiring that will require automakers to install drunk driving prevention technology in vehicles by 2023. It’s called the “HALT law.”
“It requires a national safety standard for anti-drunk-driving technology in all new cars,” said Hosea. “That will require manufacturers to integrate the technology into all new vehicles. We believe this technology can save more than 10,000 lives per year, and prevent hundreds of thousands of injuries.
The requirements are expected to include a breathalyzer on the steering column, a start button that can detect impaired driving, and a camera in the rear-view mirror.
MADD has a “Move with MADD” Awareness Walk September 6 at the Sherman Village Park, that Hosea says will hopefully help driving the anti-drunk driving message home.
