The popular BBC motoring program Top Gear has been rapped by the broadcaster’s independent watchdog, as two of the presenters were shown drink driving on the show aired in July 2007. The show was a special edition of Top Gear, where presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May had to drive a heavily-modified Toyota pick-up truck in the Artic, while Richard Hammond was racing them to the Magnetic North Pole with Huskies.
While Clarkson and May were driving, they were shown to be drinking gin and tonics. One view had complained that the footage was “grossly irresponsible”. Top Gear producers had said that they were filming in an uninhabitable area of the North Pole, and as they were in international waters, no drink driving laws existed. They also stated that the presenters were not drunk and was always in control of the vehicle.
However according to Reuters, the BBC Trust has upheld the complaint, they have said that drinking while driving could be seen to glamorize the misuse of alcohol. There had been other complaints about the possible effect on the local wildlife as well as criticisms about global warming. These however were rejected.
This had started a debate with me and my cousin; he agreed that although there are no laws about drinking while driving in the Artic, they as TV presenters should be more responsible as they are in the public eye. My argument with him was, yes I know that there is no drink driving laws so what is all the hassle, he then went into one about that, so I then said to him, well what about all the Auto programs where they take a car onto the Autobahn where they are seen to be going over 150mph. Is that classed as irresponsible as well, they are in another country, so you can go by their laws not ours.
