Is going 5mph over the speed limit a sin

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pismopal said:
Speeding doesn’t kill anyone anyway nor does speeding cause accidents. If it did all the traffic officers would be dead because speeding is the only way to overtake violators. They drive safely while exceeding the posted limit…professionally. Speeding increases the severity of collisions. The actual cause of accidents is careless driving…loss of control due to inattention…unsafe lane changes…following too closely and other violations( stop sign-signal s etc) that some law enforcement agencies ignore because issuing citations for speeding is much easier…more revenue enhancing and can be detected with radar. It is like shooting ducks in a barrel for them.
5 miles an hour over the speed limit should not even be an enforceble violation. If all I did was write that kind of punctillious citation I could not look at myself in the mirror…and I didn’t…write them that is.😉
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I can’t believe that you believe what you said here. Could I politely suggest you provide some statistical evidence for your assertations?
 
Assuming it’s a sin, which I do not think it is, it is only venial. So if it is venial, then i’ts not something that should concern me. There are plenty of other sins out there. But to all you legalistic no exception it’s the law people, wasn’t Jesus constantly saying how wrong that attitude was when talking with the Pharasees?
 
ALL sin should cause you concern, friend.

Aren’t we supposed to aspire to become saints? Can you imagine Padre Pio or our Blessed Mother saying that we shouldn’t be bothered by venial sins? :dts:
 
ricmat said:
Actually, the “X” in my example was not meant to be other minor traffic laws. The point I was making is that if these minor laws are not enforced, it eventually leads to murder, rape, embezzlement, etc. If a potential embezzler were caught everytime he/she was speeding, or not stopping at a stop sign - do you think they would dare embezzle? As one example.
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Ah. But (humor me for a moment), do you think this growing disregard for the law could have more to do with the massive quantity of laws rather than the lack of enforcement? For example, when someone sees the goverment making all sorts of laws on things that aren’t inherently wrong (such as certain traffic laws, bans on smoking, etc.) that person starts to lose respect for the law because they perceive it as overbearing and trivial.

Further, I’m trying to imagine what our society would be like if every single law on the books was strictly enforced to the letter (down to the last mph over the speed limit). It would probably feel like a Police State.

I’m just sort of thinking out loud here. This thread has stirred my brain into thinking about the pros and cons of our legalistic society. :o
 
Joe_5859 said:
Ah. But (humor me for a moment), do you think this growing disregard for the law could have more to do with the massive quantity of laws rather than the lack of enforcement? For example, when someone sees the goverment making all sorts of laws on things that aren’t inherently wrong (such as certain traffic laws, bans on smoking, etc.) that person starts to lose respect for the law because they perceive it as overbearing and trivial.
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The laws of God provide for civil authorities and laws made by those civil authorities. Unless those laws contradict God’s laws, they are valid, no matter what our own opinions are.

The lost respect you describe for overbearing and trivial laws is exactly the reason some people leave the Catholic Church. But in both cases (church & civil), our “obedience” is being tested. Adam and Eve failed the test (what a trivial law, not to eat that particular fruit). Furthermore, it is NOT for us to decide good and evil, but God, and his appointed representatives. Even if the laws seem trivial.

IMO.
Joe_5859 said:
Further, I’m trying to imagine what our society would be like if every single law on the books was strictly enforced to the letter (down to the last mph over the speed limit). It would probably feel like a Police State.
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What I see in my neighborhood is kids doing graffiti all over houses and public parks. They are caught, and let go with a stern warning not to do that again. Eventually, they become gang members and get involved in serious drugs, extortion, murder. If there were actual consequences for graffiti (or breaking traffic laws), they would decide that their career ambition of being a gang hoodlum might not be a good choice.
 
Yes. Speeding is a factor in about one-third of all fatal crashes, killing more than 1,000 Americans every month. In 2007, 13,040 people died in speed-related crashes. Based on a national representative sample of police-reported crashes, in 2007 speed was a factor in about 15 percent of property-damage only crashes and 26 percent of crashes involving injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that the economic cost of speed-related crashes is more than $40 billion each year.1

Many drivers exceed speed limits by some amount at least occasionally. In a study of drivers on limited access highways, high-speed drivers were more often male and more often judged to be younger than 30.

iihs.org/research/qanda/speed_limits.html
 
surritter said:
ALL sin should cause you concern, friend.

Aren’t we supposed to aspire to become saints? Can you imagine Padre Pio or our Blessed Mother saying that we shouldn’t be bothered by venial sins? :dts:
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We’re also supposed to follow our conscience. Until the Pope himself, and not unless he speaks infallibly using that three word phrase, or until there is a Council on this issue, or even a Papal Bull or anything of the matter which would show why my opinion is wrong, I have every right to follow my conscience. My conscience tells me this is not a sin, not even venial and this is what I follow.
 
wjp984 said:
We’re also supposed to follow our conscience. Until the Pope himself, and not unless he speaks infallibly using that three word phrase, or until there is a Council on this issue, or even a Papal Bull or anything of the matter which would show why my opinion is wrong, I have every right to follow my conscience. My conscience tells me this is not a sin, not even venial and this is what I follow.
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There has been official teaching on this! Read the Catechism, paragraphs 2238-2242. (It need not be an ex cathedra statement.) Your conscience might not be bothered, but your conscience needs to be formed in light of the Church’s teaching. And that teaching says that we are to obey civil authorities unless their laws are contrary to the demands of the moral order.

It’s not a mortal sin, so I’m not saying it needs to be confessed, but it is a form of disobedience to lawful authority. Does that help?
 
StrawberryJam said:
I can’t believe that you believe what you said here. Could I politely suggest you provide some statistical evidence for your assertations?
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Sir
I do not do homework assignments for others. I said what I said using what I learned as a Los Angeles Police Officer and supervisor assigned for many years in a traffic enforcement position. People regularly do 200 miles per hour on tracks or on straight roads and do so with no harm literally inches from other vehicles. My point is if nothing else happens there is nothing unsafe about it. The problems come when the driver conflicts with other drivers with unsafe lane changes or other improper driving. Speed…in and of itself does not cause accidents. If you cannot get your mind around that I am sorry but it is the truth. As I said ( and have to say again speed only increases the severity of accidents it does not cause them) The problem is that people are not good drivers and cannot keep away from conflict…most should not even be driving…at any speed.
If you doubt what I have offered here we can discuss the matter in PM.
 
StrawberryJam said:
I can’t believe that you believe what you said here. Could I politely suggest you provide some statistical evidence for your assertations?
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It just occured to me…what is it you can’t believe? Is it the place where I said that if speed killed there would be no police officers because speeding is part of a police officers job? You have trouble with that…I mean this is pretty basic stuff here? Why do police officers drive vehicles that have huge amounts of horsepower and rear wheel drive? It is because they must SPEED to do their job. They are trained to do it with the minimum of danger to themselves or others. They know how to drive and they are trained to drive amongst drivers who don’t. 🤷
 
If Jesus asked you for a ride in your car, would you speed while he was sitting next to you?

Imagine the other people on the road being him.
 
pismopal said:
People regularly do 200 miles per hour on tracks or on straight roads and do so with no harm literally inches from other vehicles. My point is if nothing else happens there is nothing unsafe about it. The problems come when the driver conflicts with other drivers with unsafe lane changes or other improper driving. Speed…in and of itself does not cause accidents.

snip…

Why do police officers drive vehicles that have huge amounts of horsepower and rear wheel drive? It is because they must SPEED to do their job. They are trained to do it with the minimum of danger to themselves or others. They know how to drive and they are trained to drive amongst drivers who don’t. 🤷
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Firstly - I think we all agree here that police officers must speed to do their jobs, and that it is not automatically a sin in that case.

But…

Speed kills because there is less time to react to unexpected situations. Yes, police officers know how to drive better than most other folks. So do race car drivers, and I think you’d agree that per mile driven, a racetrack is much more dangerous than our freeways. Allowing our freeways to turn into racetracks is not a good idea.
 
Last week I was driving in an empty street at about 11 at night with some of my cousins in my car. Since the street was one way, and no possible way of me running a red light or getting “blindsided” by another car, I accelerated really fast and went about 85 mph (I think that speed limit is usually around 45 or so). I know that this was irresponsible, especially since I had my cousins in my car with me… do you guys think this was sinful? I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing at the time… it was after when I realized that what I did was wrong. I guess I did it for the adrenaline rush (darn those teenage hormones :D)
 
pcg2 said:
Last week I was driving in an empty street at about 11 at night with some of my cousins in my car. Since the street was one way, and no possible way of me running a red light or getting “blindsided” by another car, I accelerated really fast and went about 85 mph (I think that speed limit is usually around 45 or so). I know that this was irresponsible, especially since I had my cousins in my car with me… do you guys think this was sinful? I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing at the time… it was after when I realized that what I did was wrong. I guess I did it for the adrenaline rush (darn those teenage hormones :D)
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Do you want an honest reply to this, or are you looking to stir the pot?
 
pcg2 said:
Last week I was driving in an empty street at about 11 at night with some of my cousins in my car. Since the street was one way, and no possible way of me running a red light or getting “blindsided” by another car, I accelerated really fast and went about 85 mph (I think that speed limit is usually around 45 or so). I know that this was irresponsible, especially since I had my cousins in my car with me… do you guys think this was sinful? I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing at the time… it was after when I realized that what I did was wrong. I guess I did it for the adrenaline rush (darn those teenage hormones :D)
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Only a priest and you together can assess if it’s mortal, but I would say no. The claim was that “I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing at the time.” One of the conditions for something to be mortal is that you thought about it and knew it and did it anyway. Thus my opinion that it’s not.
 
StrawberryJam said:
If Jesus asked you for a ride in your car, would you speed while he was sitting next to you?

Imagine the other people on the road being him.
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Most definitely. I dare a cop to give me a ticket with Jesus in the car.
 
wjp984 said:
Most definitely. I dare a cop to give me a ticket with Jesus in the car.
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Why should the cop care if it is Jesus in the car when he sees how you drive with him in it? What reason do you give him (if he does not believe) that Jesus is anyone special if you drive with him that way?
 
pcg2 said:
LOL :rotfl:
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It’s funny because you think Jesus would be angry with the cop for pulling him over, and doing his job?

Just because the driver was a proud and loud law breaker?

Or was it funny for some other reason I don’t understand?
 
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