I don't support MADD any more

 kw: musings, disappointment

I used to support MADD (Mothers Against Driving Drunk), but over the last dozen years they have become more strident, and now they've jumped on the scare tactics bandwagon.

I heard an ad today that claimed, in a very foreboding tone, "Someone is killed in a drunk driving accident every 50 seconds." I went, "Whah??"

Just for context: An hour has 3,600 seconds. Divide by 50 and you'd have 72 deaths per hour, which is 1,728 per day, or about 630,000 per year.

The total number of traffic deaths in the US each year is about 33,000, and about 10,000 are due to drunk driving. That's about one every 52 minutes (MINUTES, not SECONDS).

The total number of traffic deaths worldwide each year is about 1.3 million, and about 300,000 are due to drunk driving. Compare that to 630,000. Of course, the ad didn't say whether the US or the world was their scope. Either way it is dramatically incorrect.

It doesn't matter. I won't support an organization that tries to scare us into donating.