MADD separates from the Century Council

“Keep your friends close, your enemies closer,” is an age-old motto. Sage advice, but in this case it has been trumped by, “Watch what they do, not what they say.” That is the lesson learned as we witness the breakup of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Century Council--a non-profit funded by the leading US alcohol distillers, including Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Brown-Forman; Constellation Brands, Inc.; DIAGEO; Future Brands LLC; Hood River Distillers, Inc.; and Sidney Frank Importing Co., Inc.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, MADD has asked the Century Council to stop proclaiming they are a leader in the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving on the Council’s website or any of its other marketing materials. The request came after discovering, among other things, that the Century Council has hindered MADD’s efforts to increase punishment for first time drunk drivers.

In fact, after the Century Council pledged to support legislation to mandate ignition interlocks, MADD discovered a letter from the Century Council to New Jersey’s Assembly’s Law and Public Safety Committee stating that they do not support ignition interlocks—one of many such statements to other legislative bodies.