MADD Urges Fans to be a Team Player This Super Bowl: Don't Drive Impaired

Impaired Driving Increases on Game Day, MADD Rallies Fans to Save Lives

IRVING, Texas, Feb. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As football fans across the country prepare for Super Bowl LIX, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is calling on everyone to make safety a top priority. By planning a safe ride home before kickoff, fans can help save lives and ensure game day is unforgettable for all the right reasons.

Alcohol consumption and impaired driving often increase during major sporting events like the Super Bowl, particularly around pre-game gatherings, halftime, and post-game celebrations. According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 45% of all fatal crashes on Super Bowl Sunday in 2022 involved alcohol.

"Super Bowl Sunday is all about teamwork, both on and off the field," said MADD CEO Stacey D. Stewart. "Planning a safe ride home is the ultimate game-winning play—it protects your community and ensures everyone makes it to the next game day.  Whether it's calling a rideshare, designating a sober driver, or taking public transportation, the best play you can make is one that saves lives."

MADD wants everyone to follow these Super Bowl safety tips:

1. Plan Ahead and Never Drive Impaired: If you plan to drink on Super Bowl Sunday, make a plan and do not get behind the wheel of a car or any recreational vehicle, including bikes, golf carts, or ATVs. When you are deciding where to celebrate, plan ahead and decide how you will arrive home, whether that's by choosing a rideshare, designating a sober driver, or using public transportation.
2. Be a Responsible Host: Hosting a Super Bowl party comes with the opportunity to prioritize the safety and well-being of your guests. MADD encourages hosts to take an active role in protecting their guests by helping them plan safe transportation or offering a place to stay, ultimately reducing the risk of impaired driving crashes and making the celebration safer for everyone.
3. If You Must Drive, Be Vigilant: Sober designated drivers should be extra alert on the roads, as more impaired drivers will be behind the wheel after the game ends. Ensure everyone in your vehicle is wearing a seatbelt, stick to the speed limit, and drive cautiously.
4. Talk to Teens and Young Adults About the Dangers of Underage Drinking and Impaired Driving: Parents should have open and honest conversations with their children before sporting events like the Super Bowl about the importance of making safe choices. MADD's evidence-based Power of Parents Handbook is a proven resource for parents, offering strategies to safeguard their children, prevent underage drinking, and reduce the risk of impaired driving.
5. Report Impaired Drivers Immediately: If you see a suspected impaired driver, alert law enforcement right away. 

Impaired driving fatalities have risen 33% since 2019, underscoring the urgency for everyone to help tackle this public health crisis. Whether fans are watching the Super Bowl at a bar, at home, or in the stadium, making a plan to avoid driving impaired is the ultimate game-winning play. Hosts can also be MVPs by encouraging guests to plan ahead, serving alcohol-free drink alternatives, and ensuring everyone leaves with a safe ride.

To spread this message even further, MADD is taking the fight against impaired driving and underage drinking to the playing field with its MADD Sports initiative. This program teams up with athletes, sports teams, and organizations to raise awareness and promote responsible choices. By engaging athletes as role models and organizing impactful events, MADD Sports aims to drive meaningful change, particularly among younger generations, and build a future free of impaired driving and underage drinking.

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 nearly 40%, saved more than 475,000 lives, and served more than 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 Act 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)