The Irving, Texas-based[2] organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California[1] by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver.

In the same year, Stevie Wonder added the song "Don't Drive Drunk" on the Woman in Red movie soundtrack that referenced MADD and summarized its policy positions.

[12] Author Susan Cheever and the SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Problems have said MADD is a manifestation of the temperance movement.

[15] On May 3, 1980, Carime Lightner, a 13-year-old girl, was killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver at Sunset and New York Avenues in Fair Oaks, California.

[17] In 1988, a drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 in Kentucky caused a head-on collision with a school bus; twenty-seven people died and dozens more were injured in the ensuing fire.

This consisted of: In a November 2006 press release, MADD launched its 'Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving': this is a four-point plan to eliminate drunk driving in the United States using a combination of current technology (such as alcohol ignition interlock devices), new technology in smart cars, law enforcement, and grass roots activism.

[32] Radley Balko, an advocate for decriminalizing drunk driving,[33] argued in a December 2002 article that MADD's policies were becoming overbearing.

It was almost certainly MADD's dogged efforts to spark public debate that effected the drop in fatalities since 1980, when Candy Lightner founded the group after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver," Balko wrote.

MADD received $5,547,693 in 2010[38] from VIPs; much of this income was voluntary donations by those attending as some states do not allow a fee to be charged to offenders for non-legislative programs.

According to the John Howard Society, some studies have shown that permitting victims to make statements and to give testimony is psychologically beneficial to them and aids in their recovery and in their satisfaction with the criminal justice system.

[41] On April 29, 2008, MADD issued a press release criticizing the video game Grand Theft Auto IV saying it was "extremely disappointed" with the manufacturers.

They also called on the manufacturer (Rockstar) "to consider a stop in distribution – if not out of responsibility to society then out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving.

In part due to MADD's influence, all 50 states have now passed laws making it a criminal offense to drive with a designated level of alcohol of .08% or higher.

[37] MADD writes that "opponents of sobriety checkpoints tend to be those who drink and drive frequently and are concerned about being caught".

[45] Radley Balko, opponent of limits on drunk driving[33] and writer for Reason Magazine, discusses the possible social implications of some of MADD's policies in a 2002 article.

He writes, "In its eight-point plan to 'jump-start the stalled war on drunk driving,' MADD advocates the use of highly publicized but random roadblocks to find drivers who have been drinking.

He writes, "Interestingly, MADD refrains from calling for an added tax on distilled spirits, an industry that the organization has partnered with on various drunk driving awareness projects.

"[34] MADD writes, "Currently, the federal excise tax is $.05 per can of beer, $.04 for a glass of wine and $.12 for a shot of distilled spirits, which all contain about the same amount of alcohol.

Tom Incantalupo of Newsday wrote: "Ultimately, the group said yesterday, it wants so-called alcohol interlock devices factory-installed in all new cars.