WASHINGTON/ JANUARY 07, 2021 – Marking two years since Rima and Issam Abbas and their three children were killed by a drunk driver, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) was joined at a January 7 virtual news conference by Rana Abbas Taylor, friends of the Abbas children, and leaders of Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD), to renew calls for legislative action in the new Congress to stop drunk driving. Early this year, Dingell will reintroduce legislation to advance the use of vehicle technology to prevent drunk driving.
In the last Congress, Dingell’s HALT (Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate Drunk Driving) Act — which honors the family of five that died when a drunk driver struck their SUV head-on while they were returning home to Michigan from a vacation — called for a process that would lead to drunk driving prevention technology as standard equipment in new vehicles in a few years. The House of Representatives passed this measure in 2020, but a similar bill, the RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone) Act, was introduced in the U.S. Senate with bipartisan support and was pending when the 116th Congress ended last month. Both bills therefore must be reintroduced in the new 117th Congress that convened this week.
“Congresswoman Dingell’s courageous and swift action to create legislation in my family’s honor that would end drunk driving is a testament to her leadership and commitment to those she serves,” said Rana Abbas Taylor, sister of the late Rima Abbas. “It is my hope that the auto industry and all legislators can join Congresswoman Dingell, MADD and my husband and I in doing what is right and putting an end to drunk driving once and for all. We need to do better. Enough is enough is enough.”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study in July 2020 which found that more than 9,400 drunk driving deaths could be prevented each year when drunk driving prevention technology is made standard on every new car. Such systems include driver monitoring (which can detect signs of distracted, impaired or fatigued driving) and alcohol detection (which uses sensors to determine that a driver is under the influence of alcohol and then prevent the vehicle from moving). Technologies like these will be beneficial, not only to prevent drunk driving but to detect other dangerous behaviors that lead to crashes such as drowsy driving, distracted driving, and even medical emergencies.
“The good news is, the technology that could eliminate drunk driving already exists,” explained MADD’s new National President, Alex Otte. “It’s time for the new Congress to take the necessary steps for its implementation, and we are grateful for Congresswoman Dingell’s leadership on this lifesaving effort.”