KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mothers Against Drunk Driving brings its “You drink. You drive. You lose.” message to the metro.

MADD worked with the National Transportation Safety Administration and the Kansas City Police Academy to organize a day-long summit.

The goal is to educate and thank law enforcement officers from across the region for their work to remove impaired drivers from roads and highways.

Impaired driving continues to be a major safety problem, according to MADD. More than 10,000 people were killed every year in traffic crashes involving impaired driving between 2016 and 2020.

Organizers say officers are the last line of defense against impaired drivers and the work they do every day saves lives.

“Mothers Against Drunk Driving, we believe you can have a safe night out involving alcohol if you are of the age of 21 or older, but it involves you making a plan, designating a driver, and of course, using that rideshare service to ensure you are keeping yourself as well as others safe,” Tess Rowland, MADD National President, said.

“The goal is for them to go back into their communities, their departments, discuss the information, and then work together to go out onto the street and enforce what is 100% preventable crime,” Jerod Breit, MADD Regional Executive Director, said.

MADD and the NTSA plan to host similar educational summits at other departments in the near future. They say that this will continue MADD’s effort to eliminate drunk driving.