Chicago DUI lawyer wonders if you want your tax dollars used as MADD money

There is no question in my mind that MADD is the 21st century version of the Prohibition Movement. Prohibition of alcohol failed in this country in the 20th century and I don't see it coming back anytime soon.

So what will MADD do in order to prohibit alcohol consumption in this country? Scare us with drunk driving accidents. This is America so they are entitled to their thoughts. The question is do you want your tax dollars being used to support their agenda?

Last month there was a congressional hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Energy and Commerce on auto safety. Robert Strassburger from the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers made a statement requesting $30 million dollars of your tax dollars to fund MADD's research partnership with the Auto Manufacturers into funding Ignition Interlock Devices (IID) on auto's. Here's the problem, once MADD takes your tax dollars and makes IID's standard on all auto's what will be the permissible amount of alcohol in the driver's system before the vehicle will start? Anyone else think that number will be 0.00? It appears that the American Beverage Institute (ABI) thinks that will be the number:

Chain Leader, May 21st

[I]t doesn't makes sense for car companies to accept government bailouts while spending time on a campaign to eliminate social drinking. "It's a matter of priorities," declares ABI Managing Director Sarah Longwell. "You have these car companies closing plants and cutting jobs; you have to wonder whether it's worthwhile for them to put money and lobbying efforts into activist groups like MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving]."

Strassburger mentioned that his group is part of a $10 million cooperative agreement to research in-vehicle alcohol-detection technologies aimed at reducing drunk-driving-related fatalities and injuries. The research is sponsored in part by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Strassburger also told the sub-committee that alcohol-detection technology "holds promise for keeping alcohol-impaired drivers off the road by preventing drivers with a blood-alcohol concentration at or above the legal limit of 0.08 from operating a vehicle."

To ABI's Longwell, that's code for eventually putting ignition interlocks into every car, which she claims is MADD's goal for such technology. "We're telling legislators there is a proper application, and that is for hard-core drinkers on their first offense. But that these devices should be put in all cars, that's going too far," she says. "The public will reject it."

It's one thing for MADD to have an agenda to prohibit alcohol consumption in this country, it's a completely different matter for them to fund that agenda with your tax dollars.