In 1910, New York was the first state to adopt a law against drinking and
driving, with California and other states soon following. These early DUI laws
simply prohibited driving while intoxicated, but there was so set definition of
what level of intoxication qualified as drunk driving.
In the US, most of the laws and penalties were greatly enhanced starting in
the late 1970s, and through the 1990s, largely due to pressure from groups
like Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Students Against Destructive
Decisions (SADD) and leaders like Candy Lightner.
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