MADD national president supports act in Annapolis

The national president of Mother’s Against Drunk Driving, Colleen Sheehey-Church, testified before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday pushing for the Drunk Driving Reduction Act of 2015.

Sheehey-Church believes this act includes serious life saving measures. It would require people convicted of a certain alcohol offense to participate in the Ignition Interlock System Program and successfully complete it.

An ignition interlock is a device about the size of a cell phone and is wired to the ignition system of a vehicle.

A convicted drunk driver must blow into the device before they start driving.

Sheehey- Church goes on, “It’s something that we’re working on heavily. It’s MADD’s first priority right now to really look at a way that we can get people that are considering driving drunk off the roads quickly.”

Sheehey- Church says, “one- hundred and one deaths were attributed to drunk driving in Maryland last year.” She believes this bill could not only bring down that number, but possibly eliminate it all together.