Independent citizen advocacy: The past and the prospects, Surgeon General's workshop on drunk driving: Background papers (pp

During the last decade, a widespread movement of citizen advocate groups has emerged whose members, many of whom are victims of drunk drivers, work to reduce the level and consequences of drunk driving. Their efforts are widely seen by a variety of observers as having had some success. For instance, Senator John Danforth in recent congressional hearings said of MADD, This organization has made the public realize that drunk driving is not a victimless crime. This change in public attitude has made it possible for those of us in Congress and in State legislatures to pass stronger drunk driving laws. (1988) Franklin Zimring (1988), a consistently skeptical social observer, discussing these local advocacy groups says, “,. the mobilization by the groups] of public opinion has been partially responsible for the increased prominence of drunk driving as a public policy issue ” (p. 374), and goes on to say, “My guess is that citizen action groups are a more important explanation [than others] of the passage of legislation in the 1980s ” (p. 380). Finally, Mark Wolfson (1988) concluded in his systematic evaluation of the effects o