Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) made two announcements for its organization recently to continue spreading their message of no drinking and driving.
The MADD Red Ribbon Campaign Kick-off for Fayette County was held recently at the Jeffersonville McDonald’s restaurant. This campaign, which is called “Tie One on for Safety,” according to MADD Ohio Program Coordinator, Randall Young, is MADD’s longest running public awareness campaign. It was started almost 30 years ago to encourage adults to tie a red ribbon on their vehicle as a way to remind fellow motorists that if they plan on attending holiday parties, especially where drinking may be involved, to plan ahead by having a designated driver or to take public transportation or use a cab/taxi service and not to drink and drive.
Young and his wife, Sue, lost their daughter, Tanya, 25 years ago this month in a single vehicle alcohol-related crash in Fayette County and through events such as the Red Ribbon Campaign, they want to remind area residents that impaired driving can be avoided if individuals plan ahead.
“We appreciate the partnership that we have with Nick Epifano (owner of the Fayette County McDonald’s) as well as the McDonald’s management and staff for all their support in hosting this event each year,” Young said. “Nick has hosted this kick-off campaign event for the last 14 years at one of his local locations. We try to distribute about 2,000 red ribbons a year locally and the local McDonald’s still has a very limited number of ribbons left. We also appreciate those government officials, law and safety enforcement agencies that came to the MADD Kick-Off event as well to show their support.”
Additionally, Fayette County Commissioners Jack DeWeese, Tony Anderson and Dan Dean recently signed a proclamation that declares the month of December as MADD Red Ribbon Month in Fayette County.
The proclamation says that over 11,076 people were killed in an alcohol-related crash in 2013 (latest figures available) and over 290,000 people injured. This was another, in a series of public awareness campaigns, to encourage local residents not to drink and drive, especially during the holiday season. Young encourages motorists to plan ahead if they are going to holiday parties or events where alcohol may be served.
“The support that the community has offered our family over the years has been tremendous,” Young said. “But we hope that no more families have to go through the pain of losing a loved one due to an impaired driving crash. We also thank the commissioners for their support over the years in helping us promote the Red Ribbon Campaign through these proclamations.”