MADrunkDrivingDefense.com Discusses MADD Getting A "D" From The American Institute of Philanthropy

BRAINTREE, MA, August 24, 2010 (Press-News.org) Despite decades of effort to reduce drunk driving by organizations as MADD, DUI/OUI cases still exist. Russell Matson, a Massachusetts Drunk Driving Attorney, and owner of www.MADrunkDrivingDefense.com has been a part of countless DUI/OUI cases in the state of Massachusetts and sees little significant change in the number of incidents during this time.

And now there is increasing evidence that the organization has lost sight of its goals. The American Institute of Philanthropy recently downgraded MADD to a "D" in its 2010 Charity Guide and Watchdog Report, citing the group's diminished focus on education and victim services in favor of fundraising and anti-drinking activism.

MADD was founded by Candy Lightner in 1980 to bring attention to the issue of drunk driving. The group has changed its focus from reducing drinking and driving to stopping alcohol use entirely. Ms. Lightener herself agrees that the non-profit group she started after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver "has become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned ... I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving."

The focus of MADD has become the prohibition of alcohol and not actions to reduce the incidences of dangerous and chronic drunk drivers. Most experts agree with reasonable DUI preventions efforts such as requiring ignition interlock devices for those convicted of drunk driving with a .15% BAC. These laws are the ones most likely to prevent chronic alcoholics from re-offending level, and focus on the important goal of reducing drunk driving deaths.

Yet MADD advocates efforts to require such devices for any first offense conviction. They also support new automotive technologies to attempt to detect alcohol in every vehicle, making everyone a suspect. According to Dr. David Hanson, professor emeritus at the State University of New York/Potsdam, "the biggest problem in reducing drunk driving fatalities now consists of the hard core of alcoholic drivers who repeatedly drive with BACs of .15 or higher, but MADD has now decided to go after social drinkers and to eliminate driving after drinking any amount of alcohol beverage. This change appears to reflect the influence of a growing neo-prohibitionist movement within MADD."

The recent criticism has come because the change in focus has been accompanied by a change in the way MADD spends donor funds. According to the AIP, MADD spent nearly double the average amount on fundraising, leaving just a little more than half of its revenue for programs. In 2008, despite declining revenue, two-thirds of its budget - almost $30 million - was spent on staff salaries (which increased 56 percent). Meanwhile, spending on community programs dropped 17 percent. It may be even lower than that, as MADD reportedly counts payments to professional fundraisers as charitable work, claiming they help educate potential donors.

Everyone supports efforts to reduce the danger to public safety caused by drunk drivers, but MADD has lost sight of the goal on which it was founded.

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MADrunkDrivingDefense.com was founded by Russell Matson, a Massachusetts drunk driving defense attorney. Call (781) 380-7730 for more information today.