Celebrities with the Worst Driving Records
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011Americans are fascinated by celebrities, and with today’s 24-hour news and “infotainment” cycle, images of our favorite TV, movie, sports, and music stars constantly surround us. Unfortunately, some celebrities are notorious for behaving badly, particularly when they get behind the wheel. Although millions admire them, these fabulous people actually make terrible role models when it comes to vehicular safety, and their driving habits would make any car insurance provider cringe. The following list comprises the “Hall of Shame” for the worst celebrity drivers of the past decade.
1. Lindsay Lohan
Well-known for her hard-partying ways and substance abuse problems, Lindsay once crashed her car into a telephone pole… and abandoned it there. The actress has been in court time and time again for DUI and violation of probation.
2. Paris Hilton
After one arrest for DUI and another shortly thereafter for driving with a suspended license, Paris finally went to jail, where she served 23 days. Luckily, her family has plenty of money to pay for her doubtlessly astronomical car insurance rates.
3. Britney Spears
In early 2008, Britney left her white Mercedes in the middle of the road when she got a flat tire. Spears has also allegedly committed a hit and run, driven without a valid license, and run over a paparazzo’s foot. Fans have spotted her driving with her baby on her lap, and later, installing a car seat incorrectly. Her extremely poor judgment eventually led to her legal restriction from driving with her sons in the car.
4. George Michael
George plowed his Range Rover right into the front of a photo store in London. Police arrested him after he failed a sobriety test, but later released him on bail. Michael has a history of driving under the influence, and at the time of the accident, he had just gotten his license back after a two year suspension for a previous DUI incident.
5. Nicole Richie
Cops caught Nicole driving the wrong way down a freeway. She admitted to being stoned on pills and marijuana… but insisted she wasn’t drunk. This was her second DUI, and she served a whopping 82 minutes in jail.
6. Billy Joel
In the early 2000’s, Billy had a string of several serious accidents on Long Island. The first was in East Hampton in June 2002, the second occurred a year later, when he crashed his Mercedes into a tree, and the third when he plowed his 1967 Citroen into a house. His record has been clean ever since. It would be interesting to find out what Mr. Joel’s automobile insurance rates are like after those repeated incidents.
7. Shia LaBeouf
Shia was involved in a drunk driving accident in which he almost lost the use of his hand. It was later determined that he had not been responsible for the crash, but a judge suspended his license nonetheless.
8. Lane Garrison
In a more tragic case, the former “Prison Break” actor’s SUV hit a tree and killed his young passenger. He subsequently pled guilty to drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter.
9. Rebecca Gayheart
In June of 2001, the actress was driving down a street in L.A. when she hit and killed nine year-old Jorge Cruz, Jr. The cars in front of her had stopped to allow the boy to cross the street. Gayheart wanted to avoid having to stop, so she veered around the cars and struck the child. She was also talking on a cell phone at the time of the accident.
10. J.R. Smith
Basketball player J.R. Smith swerved around a vehicle stopped at a stop sign and preceded through the intersection right into an oncoming car, killing his passenger, Andre Bell. Smith had seven previous traffic infractions and had his driver’s license suspended five times in a nine-month period. Authorities cited Smith for a number of traffic offenses, but they did not charge him with vehicular manslaughter. He served just 24 days of his 90-day jail sentence and performed 500 hours of community service.
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