Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has marked the 40 year anniversary since “lifesaving law” was introduced in the US making 21 the minimum age to drink.
In July 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed the Minimum Legal Drinking Age-21 Law, alongside drunk driving victims and survivors from MADD, then-U.S. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole, and Congressional sponsors.
MADD said over the last four decades, the federal law had saved more than 30,000 lives and served as a blueprint for MADD’s efforts to end impaired driving.
“The 21 legal drinking age is one of the most researched public health laws of our time, and its impact on reducing drunk driving deaths among young people is unparalleled,” said MADD CEO Stacey D. Stewart.
“MADD will be forever grateful for the victims and survivors who fought so hard for this lifesaving law, and we will never forget the extraordinary leadership of then-U.S. Transportation Secretary Dole,” said Stewart, who will present Dole with a MADD Lifetime Achievement Award for the Minimum Legal Drinking Age-21 Law.
