Actress Lindsay Lohan appears in court during her arraignment on a felony grand theft charge at the LAX Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011.Mario Anzuoni
When Canadian actor Dan Aykroyd was ghost-busted by police last month while speeding on his way to be the grand marshal of the Honda Indy Toronto, he joined a not-at-all-exclusive list of celebrities nailed for having a heavy foot on the gas pedal:
1. On Sept. 30 1955, Hollywood bad boy James Dean was ticketed at 3:30 p.m. for driving his Porsche 550 Spyder 10 mph over the posted 55 mph speed limit. Less than three hours later, the actor was killed in a head-on collision with a Ford coupe.
2. In 2007, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak also caught going 104 mph in a Toyota Prius hybrid. He told the judge that he had recently travelled a lot in Europe, Canada and South America and "and had gotten used to kilometre speeds." He was fined $700.
3. Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan - no stranger to run-ins with the law - was issued a speeding ticket on Feb. 20 for driving a Porsche at 59 mph in a 30 mph zone.
4. "You can't possibly hear the last movement of Beethoven's Seventh and go slow." - Late actor/musician/author Oscar Levant, while trying to talk his way out of a speeding ticket
5. In 2008, IndyCar racer Danica Patrick was ticketed twice in her hometown of Scottsdale, Ariz. The first time, she was pulled over in her Gold Mercedes-Benz ML 63 AMG driving 57 mph in a 40 mph zone and was court ordered to attend traffic school. The second time, she was nabbed doing 54 mph in a 35 mph zone and was fined $196.
6. On April 26, 1989, Albany, N.Y., police pursued and caught then-undefeated heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson drag racing his brand new Lamborghini against a friend on a four-lane street. He was doing 71 mph in a 30 mph zone.
7. In 2004, singer Eric Clapton had his British driver's license confiscated, was banned from driving in France and was fined nearly $1,000 after his Porsche was clocked going 134 mph - more than 50 mph over the posted limit - along a highway near Dijon, France. He did, however, agree to a photo session with French police before being whisked away by his secretary.
8. In 2007, singer, prescription drug addict and pothead George Michael was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service after being found "slumped, drooling and sweating" at the wheel of his Mercedes in northwest London. During the proceedings, court heard that Michael has had five speeding convictions since 2000 and District Judge Katherine Marshall said that his driving record was "not good."
9. In 2001, former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell was banned from driving for six weeks after she admitted speeding at 60 mph through a 30 mph zone in her Aston Martin sports car. She was also fined £400. Her lawyer, Nicola-Jane Taylor, told court during the 20-minute hearing that "Miss Halliwell offers no excuses. In short there are no mitigating circumstances. She puts herself in your hands. When taking instructions from her she told me, 'I just deserve to be treated like anyone else'." Afterwards, Halliwell left in a chauffeur-driven Mercedes.
Darren McGee