Five years after Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) began their campaign to keep drunk drivers off the roads, they have released a report on how each state is progressing in eliminating drunk drivers on their roadways. Overall, America earned three stars out of a possible five in MADD’s Report to the Nation, with five stars awarded to Arizona, Kansas, Illinois, Utah and Nebraska, and only one star given to Montana, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Rhode Island.

State ranks were chosen by using specific criteria to judge whether they were successful in eliminating drunk driving in their state. States scored the highest that required ignition interlocks be installed for convicted dui drivers, revoked licenses for driving while intoxicated, conducted periodic sobriety check-points, participated in "no-refusal" challenges to determine whether someone was driving while intoxicated, and administered greater penalties to the drunk driver if a child was traveling in their vehicle with them.

MADD President, Jan Withers, sees progress from the reports but also sees that, across the nation, there is still much education and penalization that needs to be done. The U.S. Department of Transportation teams up with MADD in the fight against drunk driving. Ray LaHood, of the Transportation Department reports that drivers are killed more often on America’s roads by a drunk driver than by any other cause. Approximately 11,000 people are killed by drunk drivers each year.

Drunk driving is not only costly by taking so many lives, but it also costs Americans billions of dollars each year. According to the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), the costs of those driving drunk are more than $132 billion a year. Almost half of the costs are monetary, while the rest are related to quality-of-life issues from those whose lives will never be the same after being hit by a drunk driver. The money trickles down from the $4.5 billion that federal governments pay, to the $3.2 billion that local and state governments pay, and to the $10.7 billion that employers pay for accidents that happen in work vehicles and for the employee’s insurance.

MADD is encouraged with the upward strides in their Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving. Statistics showed that more states are using sobriety checkpoints to stop drunk drivers in their tracks. They are gaining more support for drunken driving awareness campaigns nationwide. Since their campaign began in 2006, the use of ignition interlocks has more than doubled. And, their DADSS, or Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program is working on an eight-to-ten-year plan to deliver a program for vehicles that would disable the vehicle if a person with a .08 blood alcohol concentration strength, or more tried to drive it. The national report gives MADD, and all drivers, hope-a look on the bright side of the road.