MADD Supporters Ask
Why Some “Family-Friendly” Restaurants Back Pro-Drunk Driving Group
DALLAS – Thousands of supporters
of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are asking some “family-friendly” chain
restaurants to stop hiding behind the American Beverage Institute (ABI) and to
withdraw their membership from this restaurant and alcohol industry lobbying group.
This
week, MADD delivered more than 9,100 petitions to Mr. Steven Shlemon, president
of ABI and president of Carrabba’s Italian Grill, at ABI’s board meeting asking
that he remove Carrabba’s and its parent company Outback Steakhouse from ABI’s
membership, with more petitions to come.
ABI
has a long, sad history of fighting to keep drunk drivers on the road,
including active opposition to .08 BAC, sobriety checkpoints and ignition
interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers – all proven methods to stop drunk driving
and save lives. ABI’s consistent stand is that America’s drunk driving laws are
too strict and should not be enforced.
In
May, ABI, with funding from their membership of “family-friendly” restaurants,
launched a national attack on the implementation of ignition interlocks for
convicted drunk drivers which have been repeatedly proven to save lives.
Supporters
of ABI are the parent corporations of some of the best-known chain restaurants
in the country including:
·
Applebee’s
·
Bahama
Breeze
·
Carrabba’s
·
Chili’s
·
Macaroni
Grill
·
Maggiano’s
·
Olive
Garden
·
On
the Border
·
Outback
Steakhouse
·
P.F.
Chang’s
·
Red
Lobster
·
T.G.I.
Friday’s
“The
American public wants to know why these so called ‘family-friendly’ restaurants
appear to be putting alcohol profits ahead of public safety,” said Laura Dean-Mooney,
national president of MADD. “We call
upon these restaurants to explain to the public why they oppose laws proven to
keep drunk drivers off the road or, preferably, to support these life-saving
measures.”
As part of its Campaign
to Eliminate Drunk Driving, MADD is pushing for mandatory ignition
interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers. Research shows that ignition
interlocks reduce drunk driving offenses by an average of 64 percent.
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