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Paris Hilton's out of jail. Last night she told Larry King she'll never again drink and drive and previously let Barbara Walters know that she will no longer "act dumb..." Even if her alleged newfound sobriety is real, there will always still be other dumb drivers who get behind the wheel when they're in no condition to drive:
After the California Highway Patrol arrested Vivica A. Fox in March, she burped "quite loudly" and tried to play the race card, according to the documents obtained by TMZ. Vivica faces a max of six months in jail and a $1000 fine if convicted of DUI and driving while impaired. Here on Courttvnews.com, you can see how Vivica said she learned a lesson and regrets drinking and driving because, "it's on your record for 10 years." Wait, that's not the lesson!
Moving on...
Benedict Goh, a former television personality in Singapore is facing "drink-driving offenses" after being, police say, caught drunk in a stationary car. The allegation is that he lied about who was driving. As this was three years ago, Paris can't be blamed.
An Indiana Councilman is facing charges of public intoxication after a routine traffic stop. Public intoxication? Yup, he wasn't driving, he was just a passenger who refused to take orders and got ornery with police. Being a public official arrested for drinking while not driving is way better than what happened to Republican State Rep. Ben Harbin, arrested for DUI after totaling his car on a pole in downtown Atlanta. And Harbin's DUI charge happened after he pushed for tougher crackdowns on drunk driving. D'oh!
Salman Kahn, a Bollywood actor who was sentenced to five years in prison for poaching an endangered animal and then later ran someone over while allegedly driving drunk in 2002, for which he got...well nothing (charges were dropped) tells Paris, "You have to love yourself." For more brilliant actor advice from Salman to Paris, go here.
Let's get serious here for a second. It's nearly ten years since Princess Di was tragically killed in a car crash. More attention was paid to the evil paparazzi chasing them, and a myriad number of conspiracy theories, than the hard cold fact that her driver, Henri Paul, was drunk -- very drunk -- three times over the limit and was responsible for her death, Dodi Fayed's death and his own.
Perhaps if Princess Di's tragic death had been shown for what it was in the media, we wouldn't have today's rash of celebrity drunk driving stories. Be it Lindsay Lohan, Tracy Morgan or Mel Gibson. There's no doubt that celebrity DUI seems to be "hot" -- meaning it's in the news all-too frequently these days. And it's not always a funny "sugartits" or "I needed a burger" anecdote. Take the case of Lane Garrison, the former "Prison Break" actor who recently pleaded guilty to killing a 17-year-old Beverly Hills High school student while driving drunk and faces over six years behind bars.
Is it drunk driving is more prevalent? Or is it just being reported more? I'm not sure. But I am sure that even with all the celebrity DUI arrests, the point is not being driven home. Drunk driving isn't illegal because authorities are anti-party, anti-dumb-blonde or anti-celebrity. Drunk driving kills. It's no fun to say it, and people roll their eyes when you do. But if you have lost someone to it, you can't help but get a little riled up when it's taken too lightly.
My perfectly healthy maternal grandmother was struck and killed by a drunk driver, while crossing the street. I don't remember her because I was only a baby. Or more like, I don't remember her because of the stupidity of a drunk driver. --Susie
