Are you sinning? A test

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DexUK

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Hypothetical situation:

You are driving a car on an empty road in the middle of a flat landscape where there is no obstruction as far as the eye can see. No trees, no rocks, no ditches, no hills. Just endless flat land with a road running through it.

There’s no other traffic.

Your car is in excellent condition. The road surface is perfect. The car is capable of 200 miles per hour. If you drove off the road you’d come to no harm no matter what speed you were driving at because there’d be nothing to hit or be of any danger to you or the car.

The legal speed limit is 50 miles per hour.

You drive your car at 100 mph down this perfect (mythical!) road. You don’t drive above the speed limit in any other circumstances of road, scenery, other traffic, etc.

Would you be sinning by breaking the law in this example?
 
From the Catechism.

***2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air. ***

Are you endangering your own life?

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
From the Catechism.

***2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air. ***

Are you endangering your own life?

-Tim-
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There is no danger since the road is flat, as is the land the road is on. There is nothing to collide with.
 
Greetings to those posting in this thread,

Here’s my two cents for what they are worth.

However we are called to obey the laws of the land in so far as they do not violate our Faith. Yes you would be sinning because the speed limit is 50 mph. Just because there is no danger or anything does not negate the fact that you are disobeying the speed limit.

It does not matter what sin you do, disobedience is disobedience. I often get asked this question, What mitigates obedience to God [in this case the speed limit for it is a just law that is not against the Moral Law or the Teachings of the Church]? Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Now if you had someone in the car and they needed to get to the hospital than one could do so and drive faster provided they have their hazard lights on and all. But that is a different scenario.

Now the question is, is it mortal or venial. That is up to the individual and God.

God Bless.
Anathama Sit
 
I agree with the post above me - disobedience is always disobedience.
Also, that catechism quote which someone has posted further above specifically says ‘*grave *guilt’. So no, there is no grave guilt, no serious sin. But there is still sin.
 
Besides which, there is always danger. Of course you can’t see anything, but it’s not at all the same thing as saying that nothing is there - all of us have times when we are less-than-perfectly observant, and some have less-than-perfect eyesight too. Not to mention mechanical faults in the vehicle - what if a tire blows, or an engine part malfunctions?

On roads where the danger is minimized - eg car racing tracks, or Germany’s well designed autobahns - the speedlimit or lack thereof is roughly in accord with what the drivers are capable of handling. So I’d stick around the limit at least and not go so outrageously above it.
 
It would be a venial sin or not a sin at all; even though it’s against the law, on such a mythical road where no one is endangered by it, such a law is pointless.
 
In common law countries there’s two types of crimes: actions that are wrong in themselves, and actions that are wrong because they are prohibited by some law.

Actions that are wrong in themselves (malum per se) are usually things like assault, murder etc, and acknowledge the presence of some Natural Law.* Malum prohibitum* are things like driving on one side of the road rather than the other. Going on green not red. Malum pre se are usually sinful;. Malum prohibitum, not necessarily so.

Finally, from my point of view, it might be a sin NOT to speed in such an example. 😛
 
ChibiViolet said:
It would be a venial sin or not a sin at all; even though it’s against the law, on such a mythical road where no one is endangered by it, such a law is pointless.
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You’ve never driven in Saskatchewan or Northern Alberta!😃
 
there must be some explanation why they peg the speed at 50mph (hypothetically).

personally i’d FEEL i’m doing something wrong when i’m driving double the legal speed limit even if i THINK it’s perfectly safe.😉
 
triumphguy said:
You’ve never driven in Saskatchewan or Northern Alberta!😃
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Exactly. Even though such a mythical road may exist, there is always some RCMP or Alberta Sherriff speedtrap just waiting to get you. You may not be sinning, but you’ll definitely get ticketed and get 6 points credited to your licence.

Sweet.
 
I would note too the intention of the lawgiver plays into things too…one can argue that in the higher speed limits of say 55 they intentionally set the limit a little lower than what they intend drivers to drive (say …60)…where as going double what is posted is certainly breaking the law …

(I would say such is not so much the case with low limits…please do not exceed them…like 15 etc).
 
God said to obey the law. So if its law, you should follow it.

Even if it seems like nothing bad can come from it, you are still in violation of the law.

Thats like saying you cant break the law if nobody is around to see it. Yes you can.
 
porthos11 said:
Exactly. Even though such a mythical road may exist, there is always some RCMP or Alberta Sherriff speedtrap just waiting to get you. You may not be sinning, but you’ll definitely get ticketed and get 6 points credited to your licence.

Sweet.
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The mythical roads exist.

And, nope - you’re more likely to get ticketed in Calgary. Though not me, since I don’t speed in built up areas.

FYI I have no points on my licence! Sweet!
 
I admit it.

I’ve actually done this (I did not go 100mph, but I broke the speed limit, substantially).

And I snapped a photo of the speedometer, pinned.

I should be ashamed.
 
triumphguy said:
The mythical roads exist.

And, nope - you’re more likely to get ticketed in Calgary. Though not me, since I don’t speed in built up areas.

FYI I have no points on my licence! Sweet!
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Thank God neither do I. But I have indeed run into an Alberta Sherriff speedtrap on the highways at least once. One reason I don’t speed even on open roads.
 
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