MADD honors Crowe and Cochran
From Staff Reports
The organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving
recently honored Sen. Rusty Crowe and Rep. Jerome Cochran
for their efforts to pass legislation dealing with drunk driving.
Crowe and Cochran received the honor Legislator
of the Year during the MADD Tennessee Excellence Awards held
in Nashville this week for sponsoring DUI legislation dealing
with harsher punishment for an offender who leaves the scene
of a crash. These offenders usually face lesser charges.
The bill was passed last year in the House 98-1
but died in the Senate Judiciary Committee after a 3-3 vote.
Legislators will try to pass the bill again this
year.
MADD was founded in 1980. Since its inception,
MADD has reduced the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities
by 33 percent and has been instrumental in passing over 2,300
impaired driving prevention laws, according to a released
statement.
The mission of the organization, according to
the press release, is "to stop drunk driving, to support the
victims of this violen crime, and to prevent underage drinking."
