MADD and Tennessee Titan Delanie Walker Ask Fans to Plan Their Winning Drive Home from Super Bowl Celebrations
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 29, 2014 -- In advance of Super Bowl XLVIII, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has teamed up with Tennessee Titans Tight End Delanie Walker, named the 2013 Titans Walter Payton Man of the Year, to urge football fans to have a plan for how they’ll get home from Super Bowl parties with a non-drinking designated driver.
“On Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest win of the night for MADD will be knowing that fans have made plans for a safe way home before the game even starts,” said MADD National President Jan Withers.
Super Bowl Sunday continually ranks as one of the most dangerous times of the year for drunk driving deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 43 percent of all traffic fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday (and the early hours of the following morning) in 2012 were caused by drunk driving, compared to an average of 31 percent for the year as a whole.
“This weekend marks the one-year anniversary since my aunt and uncle were hit and killed by a drunk driver who was leaving a Super Bowl party,” said Walker, who now volunteers with MADD to prevent others from experiencing a similar tragedy. “Just as you’ll plan what team colors to wear and what food to bring, remember to add a non-drinking driver to your Super Bowl party checklist.”
Walker’s aunt and uncle, Alice (Peaches) and Bryan Young, were driving home after watching their nephew play in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. They were stopped on the side of the road when they were rear-ended by a drunk driver. Both vehicles caught on fire, and Alice and Bryan died at the scene.
On Super Bowl Sunday, and throughout the year, MADD encourages football fans ‘to play the most important position in the NFL: the designated driver.’ In fact, MADD’s game-day program with the NFL helped teams increase their designated driver sign-ups by seven percent in 2013.
The game-day program enhances teams’ existing designated driver programs with a pre-game MADD presence outside the stadiums, distribution of information cards inside, and an audio PSA. The game-day designated driver program has grown from two pilot teams in 2010 to a total of 14 teams in the 2013 season, including the: San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans.
For more information about MADD’s partnership with the NFL, visit http://www.madd.org/nfl.
About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to protect families from drunk driving and underage drinking. With the help of those who want a safer future, MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® will end this danger on America’s roads. PowerTalk 21® is the national day for parents to talk with their kids about alcohol, using the proven strategies of Power of Parents® to reduce the risk of underage drinking. And as one of the largest victim services organizations in the U.S., MADD also supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, serving one person every 8.6 minutes through local MADD victim advocates and at 1-877-MADD-HELP. Learn more at http://www.madd.org or by calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.
Anna Duerr, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, http://www.madd.org, +1 (877) 275-6233, [email protected]
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