MADD Remembers Loved Ones Who Have Died in Drunk Driving Crashes
MADD is holding a National Day of Remembrance today to commemorate its 35th year anniversary and to honor the victims who have been killed and injured in drunk driving accidents.
Events are being held across the country, including candlelight vigils, lunches and other functions, to give victims and families who have lost their loved ones the opportunity to come together in support of each other and the MADD organization. MADD has also launched an online campaign for families and friends to express their deep losses caused by drunk driving.
Join the MADD Day of Remembrance in Dallas-Fort Worth
In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, MADD is holding a candlelight vigil at the University of Texas Arlington’s Maverick Activities Center in the upstairs lounge from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
MADD will honor State Representative Jason Villalba with the National MADD Legislative Campion Award for his work in promoting effective drunk driving laws.
At the event, you have the opportunity to decorate a plate with messages in memory of your loved one. The plates will be displayed as place settings to show that our loved ones always have a place at the table.
The event will also feature a visual tribute presentation and candlelight vigil.
Online Tributes to Victims of Drunk Driving
You can also decorate a virtual MADD Day of Remembrance plate online. The plates are displayed on the MADD site, which already has close to 300 plates showing the names of victims and messages from their loved ones.
MADD also encourages families and friends to post pictures of loved ones using #MADDremembers and to its Facebook page.
Drawing Attention to this Preventable Epidemic
The MADD Day of Remembrance is designed to let families and friends come together in honor of their loved ones and to draw attention to this entirely preventable epidemic. 28 people die in drunk driving accidents every single day, which equals one person every 52 minutes. Someone is injured in an alcohol- or drug-related accident every 2 minutes.
In one year, our nation loses more than 10,000 people to drunk or drugged driving crashes and 290,000 sustain injuries, including such catastrophic injuries as brain damage, spinal cord damage, paralysis and amputation.
If an infection killed 10,000 people and sickened 290,000 people, we would expect our lawmakers to take immediate and drastic actions. We would also do all we could to avoid catching the disease and spreading it to others.
What’s crazy is that we have the means to stop the drunk driving epidemic. Let’s make this day of remembrance also a day of action.