Image via MADD
Drunk driving has been an issue for many years. Since alcohol and cars have existed together there have been incidents of driving under the influence of alcohol. The first drunk driving arrest was made in London 1897 against a taxi driver. For my artifact I have chosen the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization. This organization was founded by Candace Lightner, a mother who loss her daughter who was killed by a drunk driver. The organization was founded September 5, 1980, 4 months after Candace’s daughter, Cari’s death. The organization’s mission statement is “to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking”. The organization argues that drunk driving should be stopped.
I am drawn to this artifact because whenever the topic of drunk driving is discussed in the media, this organization is mentioned. MADD has also called out about what their true purpose is. The founder of MADD left the organization after saying that it has become more Neo-prohibition instead of focusing on the act of drunk driving. I think the organization is appropriate for an in depth analysis because of how much this organization has done to encourage a change. MADD has helped set the legal limit of blood alcohol level to 0.08% and encouraged states to suspend a driver’s license after the first offense.
I chose this artifact because in my speech I used Joyner Lucas’ Frozen video which talked about distracted and drunk driving. Joyner Lucas’ video talked about unsafe driving as a whole while the MADD organization focuses on drunk and impaired driving. The video served as just an awareness but the founder of MADD decided to take action. I could compare and contrast the effectiveness of each artifact. Right now I have a lot of ideas about what I could do but I am not really sure.
