MADD Joins Forces with Law Enforcement to Prevent Impaired Driving Ahead of Labor Day With "Saturation Saturday" Initiative This Weekend

IRVING, Texas, Aug. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving^® (MADD) offices across the country are partnering with law enforcement for "Saturation Saturday," a powerful nationwide initiative aimed to preventing impaired driving. For the last 8 years, this coordinated effort has saved lives by intensifying impaired driving enforcement during one of the year's busiest travel periods. Prevention efforts are also in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign.

The initiative comes at a time of heightened urgency: Drunk driving claimed 511 lives during the Labor Day long-weekend period in 2023 alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), and Labor Day drunk driving fatalities have increased by 33% nationally since 2019.

To help prevent these devastating tragedies, MADD volunteers and staff are teaming up with more than 260 law enforcement departments across 16 states and Puerto Rico to host Saturation Saturday events this upcoming Saturday, August 23, 2025, including sobriety checkpoints, increased DUI patrols, and roll call briefings.

Participating states include: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia and Puerto Rico,

Police officers are often the first line of defense against impaired driving, with sobriety checkpoints reducing drunk driving deaths by up to 20%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Impaired driving affects everyone and is the leading cause of death on our roadways," said Stacey D. Stewart, CEO of MADD. "MADD is committed to supporting equitable and just enforcement efforts to stop this senseless crime. We owe it to one another to make safer choices."

Saturation Saturday events also align with the annual National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign, which aims to educate people about the dangers and consequences of driving drunk and mobilizes its Labor Day high-visibility enforcement efforts in August and September. 

"High-visibility traffic safety enforcement efforts serve as a deterrent to impaired driving crashes and prevent senseless deaths and injuries," said Stewart. "Together alongside law enforcement and NHTSA, MADD urges the public to have a plan for getting home safe– whether you're driving, riding, or hosting – as we approach Labor Day weekend." 

The inclusion of passive impaired driving prevention technology in all new vehicles, as mandated in the lifesaving HALT Drunk Driving Law, will eventually end this deadly public health crisis. Equipping cars with this passive technology is expected to save more than 10,000 lives a year and prevent hundreds of thousands of injuries from ever occurring. But until then, law enforcement officers must continue their dedicated efforts to keep impaired drivers off the roads. 

About MADD

Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is a national nonprofit leading the movement to end impaired driving for good. Since 1980, MADD has helped reduce drunk driving deaths in America by more than 40%, saved nearly 500,000 lives, and served nearly one million victims and survivors. The organization is committed to leading prevention efforts with young adults, collaborating with law enforcement to keep our roads safe from impaired drivers, as well as advocating for stricter sentencing and stronger laws, including the HALT Drunk Driving Law that mandates anti-drunk driving technology in every new car. MADD continues to provide support services to victims and survivors of impaired driving at no charge through victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. For more information or to donate, visit https://madd.org/ and follow MADD on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

SOURCE Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)