Commentary

Youíre drunk, but if you call a cab youíll have to leave your car

What do you do? You could do what this guy did: Arvin Brown, a television director whose credits include episodes of “Everwood” and “The Practice,” had something of a problem. Leaving a party in the San Fernando Valley, 40 minutes by freeway from his home in Marina del Rey, he did not feel sober enough to drive his Jaguar. Nor did he relish calling a taxi and leaving the luxury car behind. Then he remembered Home James, a chauffeur service with a twist: you’re driven home in your own car. Mr. Brown made a call, and 20 minutes later his driver arrived, dressed in a mod suit accented by a Union Jack armband, riding a collapsible scooter. Greetings were exchanged. The driver folded the scooter into a carrying case, threw it in the trunk of the Jag and whisked Mr. Brown safely home. Then the driver gets back on his scooter and zips away. It’s an interesting and promising market-based solution to drunk driving, and businesses like this are popping up all over the nation.