I remember when I really liked CNN. Now they’ve resorted to writing stories about dangerous Malibu highways that maim and kill celebrities. That’s a story that’s usually reserved for the local news. Given that they mostly wrote about examples of celebrities who were pulled over in Malibu for driving under the influence, the story should’ve been called ‘Celebrities that are lucky that they didn’t kill you in Malibu.’

With a number of celebrity homes nearby and murderously twisty terrain, the PCH, as it is known, has ensnared more than its share of superstars. Filled with blind spots and hairpin curves wrapped around some of the most beautifully distracting scenery in the country, the PCH has been called an accident waiting to happen.

First of all CNN, PCH isn’t just part of Malibu. Major parts of Highway 1 are called the Pacific Coast Highway. I also wouldn’t describe it as “murderously twisty terrain.” Try driving up the canyons or the hills sometime which people often avoid entirely because of the twists and turns. There’s also a quote from the publisher of the Malibu Times newspaper, Arnold G. York, agreeing with this assessment:

At best, stone cold sober, and not fatigued and at 2:30 a.m., it is a difficult road to drive.

No offense, Mr. York, but when was the last time that you were driving on the PCH at 2:30 a. m.? I’ve done it a million times and it’s only difficult if you have to avoid drunk drivers like Mel Gibson “traveling at 87 mph (140 kph), with a bottle of tequila in the car.” The weekends during the summer are the truly dangerous times on PCH in Malibu and that’s because people not used to driving and parking in beach towns do stupid things. That’s in addition to the normal people who are just shitty drivers. CNN even points out that:

Many tourists and locals alike can point out where actresses Shannen Doherty and Bridget Fonda survived traffic accidents.

Since when did people care about these D-listers? It is sad that actor/singer Ben Vereen was struck and badly injured while crossing the highway in the dark in 1993, but I know that stretch of highway, and it’s at the bottom of two hills. No one should try to cross it during the day, let alone at night - only cross it if you have a death wish. Some of these celebrities need to be more careful and possibly drive defensively (and not drunk or high), though I don’t know the details of Doherty or Fonda’s accidents. Almost all of the celebrities that found trouble on PCH in the CNN article weren’t really battling the highway, but their own inner demons.

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