MADD San Diego to Join Labor Day Crackdown on Drunk Driving

MADD Joins National Effort with Tens of Thousands of Law Enforcement Officers Warning Drivers: If You Drive Drunk, You Will be Arrested

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 21, 2007: The following was issued today by the San Diego Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving:

  WHAT:  The San Diego Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) will
         hold a news conference to kick off a statewide drunk driving
         crackdown that aims to keep our streets safe at a historically
         dangerous period -- Labor Day weekend. MADD is working with law
         enforcement this holiday weekend to send the message: if you drive
         at or over the illegal limit, you will be under arrest.

         The California effort is part of a national drunk driving
         crackdown, "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.,"
         sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
         (NHTSA), in partnership with the California Office of Traffic
         Safety (CA OTS), the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Border
         Division and Avoid the 14. During the crackdown, law enforcement
         officials will intensify enforcement of drunk driving laws by
         conducting high visibility enforcement efforts such as sobriety
         checkpoints and saturation patrols.

         At the press conference, media will get to hear from and speak to
         some of the key players in local, statewide and nationwide efforts.
         Among the visuals will be police cars and motorcycles, a crash
         car and a vehicle installed with an ignition interlock. New state
         data from NHTSA will be discussed and statewide enforcement
         activities for the holiday weekend will be announced.

  WHEN:  Monday, August 27
         10:00 a.m. PDT
         Food and beverages will be provided.

  WHERE: California Highway Patrol Border Division Office
         9330 Farnham St.
         San Diego, CA 92123
         *If directions are needed, please contact Pat Hodgkin at
         (760) 746-6233.

  WHO:   Attending the press conference and available for interviews will
         be:
         -- Patricia Hodgkin, Executive Director of MADD San Diego
         -- Jim Ports, NHTSA Deputy Administrator
         -- Glynn Birch, MADD National President
         -- Christopher Murphy, Director of CA OTS and Chairman of the
            Governors Highway Safety Administration
         -- Bonnie Dumanis, District Attorney for San Diego County
         -- Skip Carter, Chief of CHP Border Division
         -- Nina Walker, a victim of drunk driving and member of MADD
            National's Board of Directors

  WHY:   Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent
         crime. In 2006, 1,276 people were killed in California in drunk
         driving crashes, and nationally, nearly 13,500 people were killed
         in crashes where the driver had a blood alcohol concentration of
         .08 or higher. Research shows that frequent and highly publicized
         sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols reduce deaths and
         injuries due to drunk driving. The two-and-a-half week enforcement
         wave in California runs from August 17 - September 3.

         High-visibility enforcement, a proven method to reduce the number
         of deaths and injuries caused by drunk driving, is one of the four
         components of MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. The other
         elements include: mandatory ignition interlocks for all convicted
         drunk drivers, development of advanced vehicle technology to detect
         and stop drunk drivers, and mobilization of grassroots support.