Another question on Speeding and Sin

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In the summer I live in the Boston area. On the way to confession, which is in Boston proper, I must drive on Storrow Drive (which for those not from Boston is the main thoroughfare that hugs the Charles River, although it is only a dangerous two lanes wide. For reference, a portion of the Wikipedia entry for Storrow Drive reads “The road is notorious for speeding and aggressive driving because police enforcement along the road is difficult without a breakdown lane.”). For the majority of the drive the speed limit is 40mph. Nearer to the city it drops down to 30mph. I would wager that that the average speed of the cars on the drive is 55mph (sometimes, even when driving 55mph one is passed as if they are standing still) I began to feel very guilty about speeding on the way to confession, so I tried to follow the traffic laws. That was a very bad idea. Due to the narrowness of the drive I was tailgated mercilessly, and almost knocked off of the road. So, for safety I have been keeping up with traffic.

I have no illusions that to speed along with the traffic on such a narrow drive is VERY dangerous and it makes me sick to transgress the speed limit by more than 20 mph (In normal life if I do speed I usually only hover five mph over). However, I am even more fearful of following the speed limit and possibly causing a nasty pile up because of the scores of tailgating cars revving to go 55mph. I really don’t want to be offending God on my way to confession, and I haven’t confessed this because I haven’t been fully sure whether or not, for the sake of road safety, breaking the speed limit constitutes sin. Any thoughts?
 
nsm said:
Any thoughts?
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Generally, I think staying with the flow of traffic is probably the better and safer option, as you suggested… but if it were me, I’d probably do something like keep myself around 40 (or at least no more than around 45) when it drops down to 30, and if anyone else comes along going faster than that, well, then that’s when I hold my ground and don’t feel bad about it. Hopefully they’ll at least think twice about their speed before passing me.

But have you perhaps considered talking to a police officer or two? Just stop by the police station and explain your concerns… I really can’t imagine that they’d mind giving you some advice, especially since it is a situation concerning some not-too-small matter of safety. But I’d be interested to hear what they say… you might even be surprised at their advice.
 
It is a safety thing, you can be a hazard on the road by going too flow relative to the overall flow. Speeding with the flow to stay safe is not sinful at all, that is defensive driving.
 
Definately keep up with traffic for saftey’s sake. It’s not worth going the speed limit if it causes an accident.

Jimmy Akin has an interesting article relating to this.
 
I agree that for safety reasons–staying with the flow of traffic is a good idea, but not if the speed goes 20 mph over the limit. I really dislike tailgating…

I don’t think that speeding would be classified as a sin, per se, unless you blatantly disregard others’ lives, knowingly. (Like if we were to say to ourselves…'I don’t care if I’m going to cause an accident…I don’t care how fast I’m going…I have to get to…(wherever))

I live in Florida, and the limit is typically 60 to 70 depending on the stretch of highway I’m on…and there are people who are probably doing easily 85…to me, people that consistently speed like this have no regard for the safety of others. If you are driving a police car or ambulance, and need to speed–understandable (although, I still have opinions on that too but don’t want to derail your thread lol)

But, if a person consistently speeds well over the limit–like 15 to 25 miles over the limit or more…(and you can tell when someone just blows right by you) I think that he/she doesn’t care about the safety of others. There are so many accidents in Florida, it’s incredible. Some of that, is the various age groups and tourists who are on the roads…but, largely, when you read the articles in the paper or watch the news–it’s due to excessive speeding and tailgating.

So…always be mindful of others’ safety as your rule of thumb…and your own safety, as well.
 
I always viewed speed limits as suggested minimums…

The main issue is, are you risking someones life? Not just another motorist but also your own. Staying with the traffic is probably the best bet for everyone.
 
PyropenguinX said:
I always viewed speed limits as suggested minimums…

The main issue is, are you risking someones life? Not just another motorist but also your own. Staying with the traffic is probably the best bet for everyone.
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suggested minimums or maximums??:eek: :rotfl:
 
PyropenguinX said:
Minimums. Most definitely a minimum. 😃

One of the few times I find myself constantly at peace is while driving. I’m weird. 🤷
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gasp:tsktsk: 😉

My husband is a speeder as well…ugh–I tell him that he is really risking his life, and others! Also, I’ll have you (both) know that going just beyond 5 miles over the limit…can cause a person to age too quickly. Just another reason to slooooow down.:yup:
 
I hate it when people speed. I don’t know about your states, but where I live if you are 20 MPH or above the speed limit, you are slapped with a felony and may have your license immediately suspended. Anything over 10 MPH (some areas, less) will get you a fine

If the highway speed limit is 55 or 65 MPH, I maintain a speed between 55-60 or 65-70.

I don’t care if people are passing me going 75-90 MPH, I’m not going to break the laws to suit someone else’s fancy.

Also, my abiding by the traffic laws is not a hazard to others’ lives. It’s the speeders who need to obey the laws, not me who needs to break them.

If someone is tailgating you, tap your brakes and see how quickly the back off. It works every time. 🙂 I think sometimes people don’t realize that they’re doing it until you give them that reminder. Then they know to either slow down or switch lanes.
 
I am a student and for half of the year I live in central New York. Speeding there is almost non-existent, twenty miles over the speed limit would definitely result in license revocation, and there are vigilant cops everywhere along the highway and even the small college town roads. It is sooo hard to adjust when coming home to Boston, but I have had the experience of almost being forced off of the road several times when trying to follow the laws.
 
GIMJ said:
Also, my abiding by the traffic laws is not a hazard to others’ lives. It’s the speeders who need to obey the laws, not me who needs to break them.

If someone is tailgating you, tap your brakes and see how quickly the back off. It works every time. 🙂 I think sometimes people don’t realize that they’re doing it until you give them that reminder. Then they know to either slow down or switch lanes.
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There are some cities in this country where that kind of stuff can get you shot. The freeways often have minimum limits as well and believe me you can get a citation for moving too slow. Best to keep up with the flow, it is the responsible thing to do. Just try to maintain some distance so you have a prayer of stopping and not climbing up the backside of the guy ahead.
 
GIMJ said:
I hate it when people speed. I don’t know about your states, but where I live if you are 20 MPH or above the speed limit, you are slapped with a felony and may have your license immediately suspended. Anything over 10 MPH (some areas, less) will get you a fine

If the highway speed limit is 55 or 65 MPH, I maintain a speed between 55-60 or 65-70.

I don’t care if people are passing me going 75-90 MPH, I’m not going to break the laws to suit someone else’s fancy.

Also, my abiding by the traffic laws is not a hazard to others’ lives. It’s the speeders who need to obey the laws, not me who needs to break them.

If someone is tailgating you, tap your brakes and see how quickly the back off. It works every time. 🙂 I think sometimes people don’t realize that they’re doing it until you give them that reminder. Then they know to either slow down or switch lanes.
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Please stay in the right lane, then! I hate it when people decide to “enforce” the speed limit and stay in the left lane doing just under the speed limit, forcing everyone else to slow down or pass them in the right lane. That is dangerous.

Some people ARE in a hurry. Late to pick up kids? Someone dying in a hospital? Late for a flight? Must meet a deadline? We just don’t know. It is NOT our job to make everyone else slow down! Leave that to the cops.
 
Catholic90 said:
Please stay in the right lane, then! I hate it when people decide to “enforce” the speed limit and stay in the left lane doing just under the speed limit, forcing everyone else to slow down or pass them in the right lane. That is dangerous.

Some people ARE in a hurry. Late to pick up kids? Someone dying in a hospital? Late for a flight? Must meet a deadline? We just don’t know. It is NOT our job to make everyone else slow down! Leave that to the cops.
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Well…speeding like you’re mario andretti isn’t going to change things…if anything, leave earlier.😉 Many an accident is caused because people’s reaction times are not fast enough to respond to a sudden stop or sudden bout of rain or whatever, if they’re speeding 20+ miles over the limit. If the limit is 70, and someone is going 85/90…holy cow. It is too dangerous. But, I agree…get out of their way!!!😃 I tend to stay in the right lane, typically…unless someone is going 50 in a 70 (grrrr) then, I get into the left to pass-but there’s really no VALID reason to be driving 15 to 25 miles over the limit, unless you’re racing to a hospital. I’m talking more about repeat offenders.:o

My husband agrees with you 10 fold by the way–he looks like he is going to have a stroke, if I’m ever the one driving.
 
whatevergirl said:
Well…speeding like you’re mario andretti isn’t going to change things…if anything, leave earlier.😉 Many an accident is caused because people’s reaction times are not fast enough to respond to a sudden stop or sudden bout of rain or whatever, if they’re speeding 20+ miles over the limit. If the limit is 70, and someone is going 85/90…holy cow. It is too dangerous. But, I agree…get out of their way!!!😃 I tend to stay in the right lane, typically…unless someone is going 50 in a 70 (grrrr) then, I get into the left to pass-but there’s really no VALID reason to be driving 15 to 25 miles over the limit, unless you’re racing to a hospital. I’m talking more about repeat offenders.:o

My husband agrees with you 10 fold by the way–he looks like he is going to have a stroke, if I’m ever the one driving.
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Oh, I don’t go 20+ over, but I will go 5-10 over. The main freeway I travel at least twice daily is a 6 lane divided road with a speed limit of 55. I will go up to 65. The flow of traffic is usually 60-65. This is the road to my kids’ school. There are times where I am leaving one job and have to pick up my kids to get them somewhere and have it timed out to the second. If I am leaving MY school, I often CAN’T leave earlier. If traffic is flowing and everyone is “playing by the rules”, it works out perfectly. Then about once or twice a month, I run into these “do-gooders” who think it is their job to “enforce” that 55 limit and firmly plant themselves (usually right in front of me:mad: ) in the left lane. They won’t move over. It is very irritating. What gets me are the smug looks from them when I finally do pass them in the right lane.

Even the cops on that highway cruise along at 65. Yesterday I was traveling that road going about 60 and passed a squad that was just pulling into traffic. I saw him in my rearview enter the traffic, pull over into the center lane, and cruise past me (I was in the right lane traveling about 60 in a 55 zone), and the traffic in the center and left lanes were going faster. He joined them, and cruised along at about 65 until my exit about 8 miles later.
 
Catholic90 said:
Oh, I don’t go 20+ over, but I will go 5-10 over. The main freeway I travel at least twice daily is a 6 lane divided road with a speed limit of 55. I will go up to 65. The flow of traffic is usually 60-65. This is the road to my kids’ school. There are times where I am leaving one job and have to pick up my kids to get them somewhere and have it timed out to the second. If I am leaving MY school, I often CAN’T leave earlier. If traffic is flowing and everyone is “playing by the rules”, it works out perfectly. Then about once or twice a month, I run into these “do-gooders” who think it is their job to “enforce” that 55 limit and firmly plant themselves (usually right in front of me:mad: ) in the left lane. They won’t move over. It is very irritating. What gets me are the smug looks from them when I finally do pass them in the right lane.

Even the cops on that highway cruise along at 65. Yesterday I was traveling that road going about 60 and passed a squad that was just pulling into traffic. I saw him in my rearview enter the traffic, pull over into the center lane, and cruise past me (I was in the right lane traveling about 60 in a 55 zone), and the traffic in the center and left lanes were going faster. He joined them, and cruised along at about 65 until my exit about 8 miles later.
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I agree–in Florida, it’s a common occurence, people sitting in the left lane…(they are going so slow, yes you think they are sitting there! lol)😛 I think it can be more dangerous to a degree, to have to use the right lane for passing, because people are going under the speed limit in the left lane. I think that everyone should have to be retested every two years to keep their licenses, might see a lot of empty highways!:o
 
Catholic90 said:
Please stay in the right lane, then!
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I generally do
Catholic90 said:
Some people ARE in a hurry. Late to pick up kids? Someone dying in a hospital? Late for a flight? Must meet a deadline? We just don’t know. It is NOT our job to make everyone else slow down! Leave that to the cops.
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When I said I drive the speed limit or up to 5 MPH over it, I meant I drive the speed limit or 5 MPH over it. I didn’t know people got so upset by that. It’s not like I drive 35 in a 55 zone! LOL

I just don’t want to be that guy dying in the hospital. 😉

It irks me when people drive under the speed limit, especially on the freeways. (if you want to drive slow, stay on the main streets) I also find it irritating/frightening when people drive 60-65 on the city streets, or 80-90 on the freeways. ESPECIALLY when they inevitably have to slam on their brakes and cause everyone behind them to do the same thing, which slows down the overall flow of traffic. (I saw the same car do this exact thing last week on my way to work – the guy almost rear-ended me in a 40 MPH zone, going nearly 70 MPH. Then we both merged onto the freeway, 55 MPH zone, and he swerved in and out of traffic, causing cars all over the place to swerve or brake to avoid getting hit. We ended up getting off at the same exit a few miles later and he had only saved about 15 seconds, even though he risked countless lives).

I would consider that type of behavior to be gravely sinful.
 
whatevergirl said:
gasp:tsktsk: 😉

Also, I’ll have you (both) know that going just beyond 5 miles over the limit…can cause a person to age too quickly. Just another reason to slooooow down.:yup:
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Maybe, unless we take note of the Theory of Relativity! The faster you move the slower time progresses 😃 .

(I know the speeds required for that to be significant are much faster than attainable at the moment… but it can’t hurt to try!)
 
PyropenguinX said:
Maybe, unless we take note of the Theory of Relativity! The faster you move the slower time progresses 😃 .

(I know the speeds required for that to be significant are much faster than attainable at the moment… but it can’t hurt to try!)
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:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
 
PyropenguinX said:
Maybe, unless we take note of the Theory of Relativity! The faster you move the slower time progresses 😃 .

(I know the speeds required for that to be significant are much faster than attainable at the moment… but it can’t hurt to try!)
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:rotfl: 👍
 
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