Take Action to End Drunk Driving Pass the RIDE Act (S. 1331) and the HALT Act (HR.2138)
The Andrew McMorris Foundation is currently lobbying Congress to pass the Senate RIDE Act S.1331 (Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone Act) and the House HALT Act HR.2138 (Honoring the Abbas family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving Act). The federal legislation calls for the Department of Transportation to issue a rulemaking to equip all new cars with advanced alcohol detection technology that would passively detect a distracted, impaired or intoxicated driver behind the wheel of their car. This has the potential to eliminate drunk driving in America. Contact your U.S. Senator here and ask them to support the RIDE Act S.1331 or your U.S. House Representative here and ask them to support the HALT Act HR.2138. You can learn more below, please read the Op-Ed and view the Volvo video. We can do this, but we need your support.
Read Alisa McMorris’ Newsday Op-Ed About the RIDE Act
On March 12, 2021, Newsday published an Op-Ed by Alisa McMorris, Andrew McMorris Foundation Cofounder and Copresident and the mother of Andrew McMorris.
Slam the brakes on drunken driving
March 12th, 2021
On Sept. 30, 2018, I dropped off my 12-year-old son, Andrew, and husband, John, for a hike with his Boy Scouts troop in Manorville. Before I left, I asked Andrew, "Should I go? You OK?" He gave me a reassuring wave. Little did I know, as I reluctantly drove away, my son was not going to be OK.Less than two hours later, a drunken driver plowed into a group of the Boy Scouts as they hiked along the shoulder of David Terry Road. The driver hit five boys, leaving a trail of agonizing screams and life-threatening injuries. My son Andrew’s injuries were horrific. That drunken driver severed my son’s spinal cord, broke his legs, caused massive brain damage, and left his body a bloodied mess. Andrew didn’t die right away. He lingered late into the night after the crash.
In the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 2018, I sat with my family in the pediatric intensive care unit holding my son’s hand. As the minutes went on, Andrew’s body grew cold. I stared at the heart monitor, watched the steady beat slow and knew he was leaving us. I leaned forward and whispered into his ear: "Sweet boy, go to the light. Find the warmth and go be with God." I heard the heart monitor beep become a steady flatline tone. They turned off the ventilator and at 4:07 a.m. Andrew was pronounced dead.
A drunken driver senselessly took my son’s life. Andrew was ripped from my family, his friends, teachers and Boy Scouts. This pain continues to impact our community daily and so many people struggle in ways they never did before.
Arresting and jailing drunken drivers rarely keeps them from driving drunk again. Mothers Against Drunk Driving has spent 40 years educating people and advocating for tougher driving-under-the-influence laws. Their efforts alongside others have helped reduce drunken driving deaths. But more than 10,000 people in the United States still die each year because of drunken driving. That is equivalent to one 737 airliner crashing each week without any survivors. We need to do better.
And the technology that can help us do better already exists. Driver monitoring systems can detect signs of distracted, impaired or fatigued driving, and alcohol-detection systems use sensors to determine whether a driver is under the influence and then prevent the vehicle from moving.
It is time that we get this technology into every vehicle on the road as standard equipment, just like airbags and seat belts. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study last year determined that more than 9,400 lives could be saved every year as a result.
Congress has the authority to mandate use of this life-saving technology. Last year, the House passed a well-reasoned technology mandate bill, but a Senate version, the RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone) Act, was still pending in committee with bipartisan support when the 116th Congress ended.I ask Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to support reintroduction and passage of this legislation. Schumer has been a serious supporter of drunken driving-prevention technology, steering federal funds toward its development. The time to get those systems into vehicles is overdue. Together we can harness technology to prevent countless families from irreparable devastation.
Please, Congress: Get this done now.
Alisa McMorris lives in Shoreham-Wading River and is the Mother of Andrew McMorris.
Learn More About This Technology
According the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, if all vehicles were equipped with advanced alcohol detection technology, an estimated 9,400 lives could be saved every year.
“This technology is a game changer in the fight to stop the horrible tragedies caused by drunk driving — the leading killer on America’s roads,” said former MADD National President Helen Witty.”
To learn more about advanced drunk driving prevention technology in cars, check out the video from Volvo below that shows how their technology works to help address detect an intoxicated driver behind the wheels of their cars.
How to Support This Legislation
The best way to support this legislation is to contact your U.S. Senator and ask them to pass the RIDE Act (S. 1331) or contact your U.S House Representative and ask them to pass the HALT Act (HR. 2138). Writing letters to and calling your representatives makes a difference! Their offices log every phone call and letter and log the number of calls/letters from constituents about each piece of legislation. If lots of constituents call either supporting or opposing a bill, the office DOES notice and the Senator WILL take action.
Find Your Representatives
If you live in New York State, our Senators are Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer. You can contact their local office or their D.C. office - they log both, but usually it’s easier to get through to the local office.
If you live outside of New York State, you can find your Senator here.- just select your state from the drop down menu.
Mail a letter or make a phone call.
Long Island Office -155 Pinelawn Road , Suite 250 North, Melville, NY 11747
(631) 249-2825
DC Office- 478 Russell Senate Blg, Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-4451
Long Island Office -145 Pine Lawn Road, #300, Melville, NY 11747
(631) 753-0978
DC Office - 322 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-6542
What to Say in Your Letter or Phone Call
We suggest calling AND writing to each Senator.
If you mail a letter, simply mail it to the Senator’s office and sign your name to the bottom.
If you make a phone call, an office intern or aide will likely answer the phone. Tell them you’re calling to voice your support of a bill.
In your letter or phone call, you can say something like,
“I’m a constituent of Senator _________, and I’m [calling or writing] to urge the Senator to support the RIDE Act, S. 1331. This bill will effectively eliminate drunk driving in America, saving over 9,000 lives each year. I’m asking the Senator to support it when it comes to a floor vote.”
Note: They may ask your name and town or address, just to confirm that you are in fact a constituent (Senators actually DO take constituent feedback seriously, so they sometimes want to confirm that you are one of their constituents).
Support the Andrew McMorris Foundation
To support the Andrew McMorris Foundation and our legislative initiatives, please donate here.
To support Mothers Against Drunk Driving and help create a world of no more victims , please donate here.