Updated on: 11/13/2019
On Friday I was called by KING5 News to comment on how federal budget cuts might impact drinking and driving law enforcment in Washington State (the video is at the bottom of the page).
I have been a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) volunteer in Washington State for a number of years and last fall I went to Washington DC to lobby lawmakers to make sure that federal programs that help fund drinking and driving programs are fully funded.
MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving calls for high visibility law enforcement, ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, and advanced alcohol detection technology. We are very concerned that federal budget cuts may mean that highway safety programs are not funded and thus critical DUI countermeasures are underfunded or eliminated.
It could be the start of a deadly chain reaction--Federal highway safety programs finance grants which in turn supply the funding for local law enforcement drunk driving countermeasures that often take the form of overtime hours for police presence on weekends, during holidays, at sporting events and concerts, etc. The sequester ( federal spending cuts) will be felt right here in Washington State. We'll see an increase in drunk driving collisions and deaths.