In 1980, Candy Lightner's 13-year-old daughter Cad was killed by a drunk driver as she walked down a suburban street in California. "I promised myself on the day of my daughter's death that I would fight to make this needless accident count for something positive in the years ahead," Candy Lightener later wrote.
The drunk driver received a two-year prison sentence. However, he avoided prison by serving time in a work camp and a halfway house. Ms. Lightner was very angry about that and so organized Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), which later changed to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The aim of her organization was to raise public awareness of the serious nature of drunk driving and to promote tough legislation against the crime.
Before Ms. Lightner's MADD, intoxication(醉酒), including drunk driving, was not taken seriously. Intoxication was often used as an excuse for otherwise unacceptable behavior: "I didn't know what I was doing — I was drunk."
Candy Lightner appeared on major television shows, spoke before the US Congress, addressed professional and business, groups, and worked tirelessly for years to change public attitudes, change judicial(审判的) behaviour, and promote tough new legislation. Ms. Lightner left MADD because the organization that she herself created is changing its focus. "I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving."
The President of the United States awarded her the President's Volunteer Action Award and she was the subject of the movie "Mothers Against Drunk Drivers: the Candy Lightner Story".