John Mayer Takes Stand Against Drinking and Driving on Blog

Finally, a voice of sanity has rung out among the Hollywood "it" crowd. John Mayer, known as the sexy side kick of the licks of Jessica Simpson and Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly and in his own right as the wildly successful pop artist, has taken a quiet but strong stand against drinking and driving.

On his blog site in an entry dated January 14, 2007, Mayer writes about his recent personal experience. "I'm taking to the blog today to share something with you that I feel more passionate about than I saw coming," he writes. "I want to make it short and sweet so that anybody who wants to re-print it can copy and paste without editing..." Mayer goes on to explain that he went out to dinner, had a few drinks, and then found out that his designated driver was in no shape to drive him.

"It's 2 o'clock in the morning. I call my housemate Chad," Mayer explains. "Chad's sleeping. He was in the studio all day. I explain to him that I need him to jump in the back seat of my car, ride to the DD's car and drive me back home. Of course Chad says "yes" and comes through like a champ. A champ, I say.

"Here's what I want to tell you: If I, incredibly hot/fugly John Mayer can make that call, so can you."

Mayer's stand is far from heroic, but it does set him apart from the mainstream Hollywood crowd. Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson and Keifer Sutherland have all been nabbed on allegations of driving under the influence. Yet, their well-publicized arrests have not seemed to lead to more caution for other celebrities who continue to drive under the influence.

What is perhaps most disturbing about these arrests is that the arrests, subsequent charges, and even jail time seem to carry no stigma for the stars. Nor do they appear to have any sense of the seriousness of the potential consequences of their actions. The most asked question about the Paris Hilton incident was not "What will she have learned?" but "What will she be wearing?"

As cliché as it may sound, driving under the influence kills. In a horrific New Year's Eve accident in Toledo, Ohio, five people in a family of eight, including an eight week old infant, were killed when a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.254 hit them head on. The Toledo Blade reported that the driver was traveling the wrong way down the interstate. The family had no chance.

So while Mayer's stand may not be heroic, it is smart and it is novel. We can only hope that other people, regardless of how much money they have or what they do for a living, will listen.

Sources:

MSNBC.com, "Nicole Richie Arrested for DUI," MSNBC staff and news service reports.

CNN.com, "Paris Hilton Arrested on DUI Suspicion," CNN staff.

CNN.com "Gibson Charged with Drunken Driving," CNN staff.

MSNBC.com, "Lohan Arrested for DUI Charge After Crash," Associated Press.

CNN.com, "'24' Star Pleads No Contest in DUI Case, to Serve 48 Days," Associated Press.

ToledoBlade.com, "Pickup driver jailed in wrong-way crash that killed 5 family members," Blade Staff.