You may have heard about the organization known as Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD. MADD is actually composed of many different chapters-around 600 at last count-and their earnings have been estimated at nearly $50 million in 2002 alone. What you may not know about MADD however is that they actually have pretty much the same agenda as the proponents of the Prohibition did in the 1920s and 1930s, namely exert their considerable clout into pressuring the government to pass stricter laws and penalties with regard to drunk driving. One has to wonder what the eventual goal of MADD is in all of these efforts. At this point in time, it would seem that they would not be satisfied with anything less than zero tolerance for drinking. It is not enough that they have managed to force the implementation of laws that curtail drinking and driving. History seems to bear out that the outlawing of all drinking is what they are indeed ultimately after.

It is interesting to note that drunk driving laws were originally quite simple, and simply stated that drinking under the influence-or what is commonly known as DUI today-is illegal. Trouble was brewing however, and things eventually came to a head with the introduction of the breathalyzer, a device that was intended to measure the amount of alcohol on the breath of suspected drunk drivers. Among other things, a blood-alcohol concentration level or BAC of .15% was deemed the legal limit by which a person could be said to be DUI. Several organizations in 1938 then-among them The American Medical Association and the National Safety Council-determined that a blood alcohol reading of .15% BAC or higher could be legally considered driving under the influence. These findings were used as the basis for the drunk driving laws for 22 years, until certain concerned citizens (who would later form the basis for MADD) questioned the low numbers of arrests and subsequent convictions for drunk driving. They began applying considerable pressure to lawmakers to lower the acceptable level of blood alcohol to .10%.

Now the question is what is the reason for this adjustment? It was not as if the human body had undergone any significant physiological changes in that period after all! Nor had the organizations in question been lacking in their research. It would seem therefore that scientific fact had taken a backseat to politics and politicking.

While you would think that “concerned citizens” would be satisfied with these developments, they were not done yet…not by a long shot. MADD was subsequently established by Candy Lightner and some of the first steps of the group was to pressure lawmakers into implementing a law that stated that a .10% or higher blood alcohol level was the NEW legal limit for drunk driving! It did not matter if the suspect was affected by alcohol or not. A blood alcohol level of .10% was in most cases enough to secure a conviction for drunk driving! This new law basically sidestepped such issues as actual intoxication, impairment and alcohol tolerance. In addition, people could even be charged according to the old DUI as well as the new .10% laws! This naturally resulted in a staggering increase in the number of DUI arrests and convictions.

But MADD was still not done yet. Subsequent lobbying by the group resulted in the further lowering of the legal blood alcohol level to .08% in four states in 1990. A few other states followed suit, and it was only ten years later when a bill was passed that effectively ordered all states to adopt .08% as the new blood alcohol level. Astoundingly enough, MADD has even begun efforts to reduce this already unrealistic level to.05%, and have even been successful in pressuring many states to adopt a .01% BAC standard for drivers under the age of 21!

It is clear at this point that MADD will not stop until they have achieved the goal of implementing a “zero tolerance” law for all adult drivers. With the changing of MADD’s mission statement to include provisions against underage drinking, it is only a matter of time before the true intent of the group becomes revealed. And that is the abolition of all drinking. When that happens, how far off from true prohibition will we be?