Take a Minute, Make a Plan: MADD Teams Up with NFL and Uber to Curb Impaired Driving on Super Bowl Sunday

Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl game on Sunday, February 9, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is teaming up with the NFL, Uber, and alcohol distributor Diageo to push a crucial message against impaired driving. 
            Please make a plan to drive safely. 

 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 45% of traffic-related fatalities on Super Bowl Sunday involve an impaired driver. 

MADD national spokesman and former mayor of Clinton, N.J., Robert Nulman, has dedicated his life to the cause, having experienced firsthand the tragic effects of impaired driving. 

In 1987, a police chief knocked on Nulman’s door late at night. “I didn’t think anything of it,” he explained in an interview with NJ Urban News. As mayor at the time, Nulman was accustomed to personal visits from the police chief to discuss town incidents.

This time was different. Nulman and his family received the devastating news that their son, Dan, age 22, a senior in college at the time, had been tragically killed, along with 4 of his friends. 

In the head-on collision, the impaired driver who hit them was also killed. “That was the beginning of my work with MADD,” Nulman said.

Each  year, the Office of the Attorney General of New Jersey announces an uptick in resources to local police departments for Super Bowl Sunday patrols. 

According to the AG’s office, traffic fatalities continue to be a leading cause of death in New Jersey. 

The State Police reported 574 fatal crashes in the state in 2023, claiming the lives of 606 people. In more than 31 percent of those, a driver tested positive for alcohol or drugs. The probability of tragedies like the Nulmans endured spikes significantly on the biggest football day of the year.

“Super Bowl is a big time for partying,” explained Nulman. “It means more drinking and traveling on roads to get to where you are going. That can all lead to big trouble.”  

When MADD started in 1980, its primary focus was to raise awareness against drunk driving, but today, Nulman points out, it’s called “impaired driving” for a reason. He explained that the driver responsible for his son’s death was drunk and high on drugs. 

The AG’s office reported no standardized metrics for determining acceptable limits of drug intoxication like the breathalyzer does for alcohol. 

“We want people to find practical tools to make good decisions,” stated Nulman. 

With its partners, MADD, by way of Nulman and its 11 other national spokespersons, is pushing a common sense message. “On these high-risk days. Do something smart. Join the team and make a plan,” said Nulman.

He reports that a study found that football fans spend 690 minutes a week thinking about football. “We are asking people to take one minute to think about your plan for the celebration. The campaign is simple,” he continued, “and not rocket science.” 

The message MADD and its partners are driving home is this: Super Bowl lovers should think ahead about how they will get to the celebration, what will happen there, and how they will get home. 

They offer practical options to help community members make safe decisions, such as choosing a designated driver, sleeping at a trusted relative’s or friend’s home, or using Uber. 

“If you are already drunk or impaired, you don’t think about it,” Nulman added. “We are asking you to take one minute and think about your plan for the celebration.” 

The AG’s office Safe Passage campaign is similar to MADD’s. It asks Super Bowl party-goers to think ahead and make a plan before leaving the house for a celebration. It also lists the average DUI case at approximately $10,000.

“My mission is that no other family goes through anything like what we have been through. It’s still very painful,” Nulman stated, as he remembered his son.

 “You learn to cope with it better. But I do this stuff as a tribute to my son. I dedicate whatever good I do to Danny. This is therapeutic for me.”