MADD Launches 'Tie One On For Safety' Campaign

MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) - Mothers Against Drunk Driving is again encouraging Metro Detroit motorists to tie a red ribbon on their vehicles to remind people not to drink and drive during this holiday season.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham help MADD kick off its annual "Tie One On for Safety" campaign by encouraging people to help law enforcement keep the roads safe.

"If you're behind or you you see that a vehicle is operating erratically and suspect that it's a drunk driver, it's okay to call 911 and give that dispatcher the information, the vehicle description, the vehicle plate," said Wickersham.

"And so we can get a law enforcement officer to intervene and check out and see what's going on with that driver. Whether they're intoxicated, we'll take them off the road and we'll arrest them.  If it's a medical condition, we'll get them the help," he said.

Also speaking to reporters on Friday, Detroit Police Chief Godbee praised MADD for changing the mind set of Americans toward drinking and getting behind the wheel.

"Even the term 'designated driver' is one that, absent the work of MADD, I don't think ... would be as prevalent in talking about what it means to not have someone behind the wheel after drinking," Godbee said.

According to MADD nearly 11,000 people were killed in Michigan and more than 350,000 were injured in drunk driving crashes last year.