Moms Towards Drunk Driving (MADD) has welcomed Jonathan Morrison’s appointment as Administrator of the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration (NHTSA), which was introduced final week, highlighting his dedication to supporting victims and survivors of impaired driving crashes.
Morrison is a supporter of MADD and attended on the group’s current forty fifth Anniversary Candlelit Vigil the place he spoke with victims of impaired driving. The occasion was held to honour the reminiscence of these killed by drunk drivers and to proceed to spotlight MADD’s goals in lowering these street deaths.
Stacey D Stewart
“MADD applauds Administrator Morrison’s dedication to victims and survivors of impaired driving. His willingness to listen to instantly from these impacted — and his presence at MADD’s forty fifth Anniversary Candlelight Vigil — meant a lot to our group and to the households who shared their tales,” mentioned MADD CEO Stacey D Stewart, in an official assertion.
Morrison, who beforehand served as NHTSA’s chief counsel throughout the first Trump administration, was confirmed by the US Senate in September. His appointment comes at a important time for street security, with greater than 13,000 individuals killed in drunk driving crashes in 2021 alone, representing almost one-third of all visitors fatalities.
Stewart emphasised Morrison’s method to his new function, stating, “Management begins with listening, and Administrator Morrison has proven he is able to lead.”
The group is especially centered on working with Morrison to implement the HALT Drunk Driving Regulation, handed as a part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation. This landmark laws requires NHTSA to develop requirements for anti-drunk driving know-how in all new passenger automobiles.
Jonathan Morrison
“As he steps into his function on the Nationwide Freeway Visitors Security Administration, MADD seems to be ahead to working with him to make sure swift implementation of the HALT Drunk Driving Regulation — a lifesaving mandate anticipated to forestall greater than 10,000 deaths yearly and a whole lot of hundreds of accidents,” mentioned Stewart.
The HALT Act, formally referred to as the Honoring Abbas Household Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving Act, was named after a household killed by a wrong-way drunk driver in 2019. It mandates that automakers embrace passive alcohol detection know-how in new automobiles that might forestall impaired drivers from working their automobiles whereas remaining unobtrusive to sober drivers.
Morrison attended MADD’s forty fifth Anniversary occasions in Washington, DC, on September 9-10, which included a candlelight vigil on the Nationwide Mall the place victims, survivors, and households shared their tales alongside congressional leaders and trade representatives.
Trying forward, Stewart expressed optimism concerning the partnership: “Collectively, we now have the chance to create a future the place no extra lives are taken due to this violent, 100% preventable crime.”
