Mothers Against Drunk Driving visits Robins AFB: “My sister was Air Force… She was killed by a drunk driver.”

For the past six and a half years, Theresa J. DeWild has been in the fight with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to educate the masses about the dangers of drinking while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. She serves as the organization’s program specialist for the states of Georgia and Alabama, and for her, the mission is personal. She visited Houston County this week to share her experience with the men and women of Robins Air Force Base as well as to all who would listen.

“My sister was Air Force, I was Army; she was killed by a drunk driver,” DeWild began. “She was with another friend of ours who was also military—he was Army—and he died in the crash as well.”

This tragedy happened 21 years ago, in 2006, but DeWild said the message behind it would always be relevant, and those who protect our country are not exempt from the tragedies that could stem from one bad decision.

“Being military myself and my husband being retired military and my sister having been military, that’s the population that I like to reach out to the most. The military has alcohol as a part of their community. To not drink and drive is something they get told every time they go on a holiday weekend or have a safety brief; yet, it still happens.”

DeWild pointed out that her scheduled visit to the Robins installation on Thursday, December 16 was largely because she wants to be the face they see of someone who has had something horrible to happen because of the decision of someone else. She wants them to know just how easily a DUI tragedy can hit home.

“In my sister’s particular crash, she was the only one sober out of everybody involved. In any situation, when you lose someone that fast because of somebody else’s decision, it’s so frustrating,” DeWild shared. “She was doing everything right. I have three cases that I’m working on right now where it was the same thing. Their person was doing right. Soldiers and airmen and sailors have things put in place for them by their command to make sure that they don’t do something like that, but they still do.”

In the beginning, MADD was an acronym for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, but in more recent years, the last word was changed to “Driving” so that it would be made clear that the group is against the action itself and not the individual.

During the Christmas season, MADD has an annual campaign called TOOFS, which stands for “Tie One On For Safety.” Long ago, this time would be marked by beautiful red ribbons that citizens would put on their car antennas, and when others saw it, it was intended to remind them to be safe during the holidays. The vehicles built in more modern times are void of antennas, and because of that, the organization had to change how they got TOOFS’ message out.

“It’s still the same campaign, but instead of using ribbons and cars, we sit down and have interviews like this one,” DeWild told The Journal. “We also have major press conferences like the one we had last week up in Atlanta, we do press conferences with television stations; we do what is necessary to get the word out in these changing times.”

MADD’s mission in fighting drunk driving is to educate. It educates the youth to help prevent underage drinking and driving and has now started implementing the drug aspect as well due to the fact that more states are making marijuana legal. DeWild admitted that the legalization of drugs has played a part in the rising number of drivers who get behind the wheel under the influence.

“Yes, there has been an increase. There are two separate ones that officers will use now,” she informed. “There is DUI, which mainly speaks to the alcohol portion of being under the influence, and then there is DUID, which speaks to being under the influence of drugs. Our nation, especially over the past year or so with the pandemic going on, has struggled with ‘poly-use.’ That means that these violations are more frequently coming together. It’s becoming rare for a person to be pulled over by a police officer, and they are under the influence of alcohol only, or under the influence of marijuana only. More and more, it’s marijuana and alcohol or it’s alcohol and a drug like Xanax. There’s that mix now that people are found to have in them while on the roads.”

TOOFS is now in full swing to do its part in curbing injuries and deaths that occur because of DUI. It is a nationwide campaign that began on December 14 and it will run through January 2. Another campaign of this type will take place in October of 2022 to increase awareness during the time when kids are back in school and special events are planned. DeWild said times when student activities like prom and homecoming are going on are key opportunities to remind everyone to “tie one on for safety.”

In her time serving with MADD, DeWild has seen some things get better, while others have gotten worse.

“When I first started, I had a larger subsection of older teens that would drink all the time. We don’t have that now. The new generation that’s coming up is a lot more educated than my generation, and they have a lot more information available to them.” DeWild went on to say that the birth of rideshare companies like Uber and Lift has made a huge impact on the decrease of DUIs and fatalities.

“What has gotten worse,” she went on to say, “is the amount that people drink nowadays. Instead of having one or two beers at home before going out, they now have six or eight beers before going out. After drinking those at home, they head over to the bar and drink more. It’s the binge drinking aspect of it that has gotten worse.”

The increased consequences of drinking and driving to the military population is a large part of why DeWild made the trip to middle Georgia and the appointment to speak at Robins AFB. She revealed that punishment for military personnel has changed. The penalties for DUI are much stiffer now.

“It used to be that if it was the first offense, they’d take a little of their money and warn them not to do it again,” she said. “Nowadays, they kick you out, and you’re done. It doesn’t matter whether you are a private or an airman in your first year or an officer in charge of a command and are about to retire. Either way, you’re automatically kicked out.”

According to DeWild, many military personnel don’t realize in advance that if they get kicked out, they also have to pay back retirement. If they received a bonus, they have to pay that back as well.

“And they are still going to get fined on top of that,” she stressed. “They will have to endure the legalities on the civilian side of the house with the judge and jury and then the military is going to do the same thing. They get punished on both sides.”

Shockingly enough, statistics indicate that a drunk and/or stoned driver has gotten away with driving under the influence an average of 87 times before he or she is finally caught. That is a number that TOOFS as well as MADD as an organization is determined to change.

Volunteer opportunities are available to anyone who wishes to be instrumental in the fight against DUI. Visit MADD.org/Georgia to access the page where you can volunteer or donate to the cause.

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