[ Everyone, thank you very much for your participation today. ]

□ 1. INTRODUCTION
Hello. My name is Howard Podrasky. I am a volunteer, as well as a member of the board of directors with MADD Long Island, which is one of the 600 chapters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the USA. I am not a victim, and to explain the term “VICTIM”, it’s not just the person killed by the drunk driver. The victims are also the family members who have lost a son or daughter, or perhaps the family that has lost the mother or father. They are all victims, because life as they knew it has changed forever, and it has changed for the worse. Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays now become days of sadness and remembrance instead of days of joy.
As for me, I am one of the lucky ones at MADD. I have not had any family members killed nor injured by a drunk driver. I am just a concerned citizen who has seen too many lives … especially young lives … wasted by this horrible crime, and I will do whatever I can to stop it.

□ 2. POSITIONING OF MADD IN THE USA　
MADD is a highly respected organization by most people in the USA.
MADD is highly respected by the victims; the most integral part of MADD. We give honor and remembrance to the dead. They must never be forgotten, and their deaths can not be in vain. In their honor, we are bound by a promise to try to change the world for the better, so no other families will have to suffer their pain.
MADD is highly respected by the various levels of government. They are delighted that the citizens of the USA are eager to help them eliminate this terrible crime by petitioning for tougher laws.
MADD is highly respected by the police departments. Ask any police officer what is the most difficult part of his job. The answer is always the same: Telling a parent that their child was killed. We have greatly reduced these visits by the police.
MADD is highly respected by the school system. Educate the students about the risks of underage drinking and the consequences of drunk driving, and most students will be able to make the correct decision: not to drink if they are underage, not to get into a car with a drunk driver, and never to drink and drive.
MADD is highly respected by the typical citizen. They are aware that their family could be the next victims killed by a drunk driver, and then to appear on the front page of a newspaper. The public is appreciative of our efforts to try to stop the drunk driver.
However, MADD is not respected, and is often ridiculed by a small percentage of people. These are the people who think that they have the right to indulge in alcohol, then get behind the wheel of a car and drive. They are putting their pleasure before everyone’s safety. Our ongoing battle with the drunk driver is a difficult one. It is not a question of “Can we succeed?” It is a statement of “We must succeed!”.

□ 3. PEOPLE SUPPORTING MADD
MADD’s composition is very similar to that of an army. The victims are the generals. People
Who have dedicated their lives to eliminate this crime, so that no other family will have to experience the greatest pain in life: burying their children. These victims have the drive and willpower to tackle monumental challenges to a successful conclusion in the name of honor for their dead children. And just as in an army, the soldiers of MADD are the volunteer citizens who sacrifice their free time in order to make the general public aware that this is the single most frequently committed violent crime in the country, and it is completely preventable.
An ideal situation would be if MADD Japan could find a celebrity who is a victim of a drunk driver and willing to become a spokesperson. Surely there must be a famous baseball player, a television personality, or a movie star who has suffered such a loss. You could ask this person to lend their face to a MADD brochure or poster in asking the public not to drink and drive. The public must take notice that drunk driver’s actions can and do affect everyone.

□ 4. ACTIVITIES THAT CAN “MAKE A DIFFERENCE”
There are many activities that MADD provides through its banner of “ACTIVISM, VICTIM SERVICES, and EDUCATION”, but as a “Non victim volunteer”, the single activity that I personally am most in awe of is the “VICTIM IMPACT PANEL”. This is an effort of MADD working in tandem with the police departments. To explain:
The police will stop a drunk driver. If it is his first offence, and he hasn’t killed or injured anyone, there is a good chance that this person can be easily reformed with a bit of education. Part of his punishment is to attend a “VICTIM IMPACT PANEL”. The probation branch of the police will advise the offenders where and when the VICTIM IMPACT PANEL will take place. The offenders will sit in an auditorium and listen to three MADD victims, usually mothers who have had children killed by drunk drivers. The mothers will explain what wonderful children they had; tell stories of the first day of school; drawings that their children made; dreams of having grandchildren. Then the mothers tell about the crash; where the children were going, and how it happened. And that fateful moment when the police officer knocked on the door and said that their child has been killed. Next, the mothers tell about life today; how their oldest daughter quit school because she feels that life now holds no meaning; how joyful holidays are now ignored, and how the dreams of becoming a grandparent are shattered.
By the time the hour has passed and the VICTIM IMPACT PANEL is finished, most of the drunk driver offenders are filled with great regret for what they have done. After all, the typical first time offender is simply someone who has made one bad decision. These people can usually be reformed in one hour, and that hour is the VICTIM IMPACT PANEL.
Another activity that can “MAKE A DIFFERENCE” is the awareness table. MADD is often invited to attend certain events in order to interact with the general public. The most high profile of these events is usually an auto exposition. There is normally a table with several MADD volunteers that hand out various brochures and inform the passing people about MADD; the services we provide, providing drunk driving education in the schools, explaining to the public the penalties for drunk driving, and just letting the public know that we are here for them should they should ever need us.

□ 5. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MADD AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES
Another essential form of activism is MADD’s advocacy for strong laws to prevent drunk driving, and our efforts to be sure that those laws are enforced by the police and the courts. MADD has led the charge for practically every drunk driving prevention law at every level, federal, state, county and local. MADD stays in contact with legislators to set rigorous standards for drivers on the road, and to enact tough penalties for offenders. For example, MADD succeeded in persuading the federal government to pass the .08 BAC law, which provided an incentive for each state to accept .08 BAC as the legal limit for alcohol content when driving. Let me explain what I mean by BAC. Although no one should ever drive after drinking, we realize that in reality the law must allow some tolerance for alcohol content. 34 states in the U.S. now observe .08 BAC as the legal limit.
What that means is a certain percentage of alcohol in the blood. In the U.S. for example, a typical shot of whiskey, a can of beer, or a glass of wine all have the same alcohol content, equivalent to .02 BAC. Therefore, an average 70 kilo male would have to have four drinks in one hour (on an empty stomach) to register a .08 on a breathalyzer. This is only a general rule. We know that alcohol can affect different people in different ways. But for the sake of the law, 34 states in the U.S., including New York State where I reside, observe .08 as the legal limit. In truth, doctors will tell you that most people are impaired at .05, certainly intoxicated at .08. I regret to tell you that the typical drunk driving offender in the U.S., when arrested, registers a .17 BAC. The good news is that when all 50 states in the U.S. enact .08 BAC as their legal limit, we will save 500-600 lives each year.
Right now we are fighting for other tougher laws. For example, we are urging judges to impose the ignition interlock on offenders as part of their sentence during probation. The ignition interlock is a breathalyzer device wired directly into a car’s electrical/ignition system. The driver has to provide a breath sample before he or she can start the vehicle, and then again at random while the vehicle is on the road. If there is any measurable amount of alcohol detected, the car will not start. If it’s detected on the road or if the driver fails to provide a sample on the road, the car’s lights will start to flash, and the horn alarm sounds. In other words, the car draws lots of attention to the point that either the driver has to pull over or be pulled over by the police. We are urging judges to impose this preventive device more often. The offender driver has to pay for installation of the interlock and for the cost of the monthly service by a technician who inspects the built-in computer which track the interlock’s performance.
We are also fighting to secure stiffer penalties for high BAC offenders, e.g. offenders at .16, and for repeat offenders, with fines, jail time, suspension of their license, and permanent license revocation when appropriate. The keynote speaker at our last candlelight vigil was a judge from the county district court for alcohol and substance abuse. We prominently recognized one of our state senators for his untiring efforts to secure the .08BAC law for NY State. We believe that it is very important to recognize those legislators which do the best work in support of saving lives by way of drunk driving prevention laws.
We also work very closely with the police departments at the state and local town level. We have a police liaison on our board of directors for both of the counties that we serve. We also participate in sobriety checkpoints that the police conduct to intercept and arrest drunk drivers.

□ 6. EXPECTATIONS FOR MADD JAPAN
We can only hope that one day you will have chapters of MADD Japan blanketing the country from Hokkaido in the north down to Okinawa in the south. Chapters where future victims can turn to and find comfort from fellow victims; chapters where schools can request speakers to inform their students about the evils of drunk driving; chapters that can drive politicians to make the laws safer for the public by making the penalties stiffer for drunk drivers.

□ 7. HOW MADD U.S. AND MADD JAPAN CAN COOPERATE AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER
MADD USA has been around for over 20 years. We have seen all the situations and have extensive experience. But that doesn’t mean that we have all the answers and that we can’t learn anything new. We must keep the channels of communication open and offer ideas to each other. In the beginning the majority of information will obviously flow from the USA to Japan. But over the years there is no doubt that the resourceful Japanese people will refine and improve on some of our programs. I thought about this idea in my home in New York when I turned off my Japanese television and turned on my SONY stereo.
For the immediate future, what we do need from MADD Japan is the encouragement coming from the success stories of MADD Japan. Letting us know which of our ideas are working, and telling us how we can help you. After all, MADD is all about stopping this crime, and every bit of success we have drives us to work harder. I am sure that the MADD national office will always be eager to provide assistance to MADD Japan. And you can be assured, that the MADD Long Island chapter will always be honored to be your “sister chapter”.

□ 8. MESSAGE FOR THE PARTICIPANTS SUPPORTING JAPAN
MADD can never afford to be an invisible force. We can see the new, stronger laws. We can see people changing their ways and deciding never to drink and drive. We can see children responding to our messages and programs in the schools. However, we do realize that for the most part, we may never really see the essential results of our work. We always know how many lives are lost … but we may never know how many lives are saved.
A fireman can look at a burnt building and feel proud that he extinguished the fire. A policeman can look at a captured criminal and feel proud that he is keeping this person away from the rest of society. At MADD, all we have are statistics to show that we are working. We never see the faces of those who were saved from the drunk driver due to our efforts. But they are there. Maybe it’s the person sitting next to you at a ballgame. Maybe it’s a person where you work. Maybe it’s the person you see in the mirror who was saved. You will never know. But until the statistics go down to zero, our fight must go on. We will fight as if our lives depend upon it, because they do.
Thank you my friends.