Support Bentley's Law

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) needs your help to support Bentley’s Law to require impaired drivers to pay restitution in the form of child support when an impaired driver causes a crash that kills a parent or parents. Bentley’s Law is pending multiple state legislatures.

What is Bentley’s Law? The measure is modeled after a proposal in Missouri, which makes impaired drivers pay restitution in the form of child support to a surviving spouse or other relatives who are raising the children of victims until the children turn 18. Bentley’s Law better ensures justice and accountability. MADD believes that passing Bentley’s Law will make people think twice before getting behind the wheel impaired. If a person makes the choice to drive impaired and kills a parent, the person will encounter another consequence for their deadly decision. To the victim of the impaired drivers, Bentley’s Law allows for another avenue of restitution to help ensure justice. Four states enacted measures like Bentley's Law (Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, and Maine).

On this page, please email your state lawmakers in support of Bentley’s Law.

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As a constituent, I urge you to support Bentley’s Law to require impaired drivers make restitution payments in the form of pay child support when an impaired driver causes a crash that kills a parent or parents. This legislation should not replace any civil liability related to impaired driving crashes, but should serve as an additional consequence for someone who makes the choice to drive impaired. Four states have Bentley's Law in place.

The problem of impaired driving is not going away. Drunk driving is still a deadly crime. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2021, 13,384 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in the United States—a 31% increase from 2019.

Bentley’s Law better ensures justice and accountability. MADD believes that passing Bentley’s Law will make people think twice before getting behind the wheel impaired. If a person makes the choice to drive impaired and kills a parent, the person will encounter another consequence for their deadly decision. To the victim of the impaired drivers, Bentley’s Law allows for another avenue of restitution to help ensure justice.

If Bentley’s Law is not currently introduced, I urge you to author such a measure.

Thank you,

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