Speeding a sin?

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arose57

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St Paul reminds us that we need to obey all lawful authority and that disobedience to those in authority is a sin unless they are commanding something contrary to a higher authority such as God.

Does this mean that speeding is a sin i need to confess???
 
Yes, because it can put your life and the lives of others at risk. Having a lead foot also leads to impatience and a lack of respect for the rights of others.
 
I was considering this very question this last Sunday.

Notwithstanding lawful authority, I’d have to question the previous statement that speeding is necessarily putting life (one’s own or another’s) at risk. It is more accurate to say that the inappropriate use of speed may carry with it risk and that speeds well below the legal limit may still be dangerous depending on the conditions at the time.

It’s not valid to simply assume that following the law lets us off sin and it’s equally invalid to assume that breaking a man-made regulation automatically means we have sinned. We are blessed with the gift of reason and it’s our failure to use it, in respect of speed limits, that determines our sinfulness. I may drive legally in a 50mph zone at 40mph but if it’s wet or icy I could be at unacceptable risk of killing surrounding pedestrians. The corollary is that I may be able to drive at 100mph on a wide open and empty prairie road where I can see for miles and be exceeding the speed limit by 30mph and still be a danger to nothing and nobody.

Context, intention, effect, culpability is all.
 
Speeding doesn’t put people in danger. Bad drivers who speed put people in danger. One can drive wrecklessly at slow speeds as well as fast speeds. And on long stretches of interstate, speeding doesn’t hurt anybody or put anybody’s life in danger as long as you know what you’re doing.

This is especially true if the speed limit is put rediculously low.
 
Forget the nuancing. It’s a sin, because it is disobedience to civil authority.

It’s not a mortal sin (unless you are doing it deliberately to raise the danger level). Plus, it’s not intrinsically evil, meaning that it can be permitted to speed in limited circumstances. If you are trying to get to the hospital for a passenger’s baby delivery, then it’s not a sin. Think of it this way – if a judge were present he would probably say the law can be temporarily suspended in that case, presuming you use extra caution, etc. But other than that, yes it’s a venial sin.
 
arose57 said:
St Paul reminds us that we need to obey all lawful authority and that disobedience to those in authority is a sin unless they are commanding something contrary to a higher authority such as God.

Does this mean that speeding is a sin i need to confess???
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Yes it can be a sin.

However I think it is reasonable to judge that in regards to the lawgiver (the lawful authority) that he/she knows that customarily persons go say around 5 or so over the posted limit…so they intentionally post the limit lower than they intend people to go…hence the intention of the lawgiver(which is part of the moral aspect of the law) is that one stay around that limit say within a small reasonable amount…say 5 or maybe 10 (?) miles per hour…(depending on various things…such as speed limit or road or weather etc) …and one usually finds that police do not enforce the limit as posted…but give that customary room…

of course one needs to make a good judgment of conscience…and avoid danger etc. But I think that this is some reasonable thoughts on the matter…

This is not to encourage going faster than need be…but one should also avoid scruples.

(though say school zones and really low speed limits should be that speed or under…think “kids”…that keep strictly!..and more serious fines can mean they are mean it more strictly…and neighborhoods with 25…keep to that…)
 
I gotta say, I suffer from lead-foot syndrome. I love driving a nice automobile fast. It is a pleasure to me, in and of itself. I just love machines of all kind. I have however, gone way overboard and It gave me great pause when I read the phrase “Grave guilt” and “Love of speed” in the same sentence of a Magesterial document of the Church!

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.

Yup, there it is, right in the Catechism of the Catholic Church!

The line drawn seems to be “endangering their own and other’s safety.” I used that loophole to justify my behavior until I amost hit a pedestrian. I was going way too fast but he also crossed the street between two large SUV’s stopped at a red light instead of crossing at the intersection like he was supposed to. He appeared out of nowhere :eek: I stopped on a dime. 👍

No harm, no foul right? I wasn’t so sure so I took it to the confessional and started praying for God to take it away from me. God granted my wish right away, starting that very week, through a series of speeding tickets, one right after the other, one more expensive than the last until I paid $500 for the title “Super Speeder” in the state of Georgia.

God’s a funny guy. Watch out what you pray for. I put the letter in a frame and hung it on the wall in my garage right next to the drivers side door of my car.

I still have the itch but that last ticket hurt and Its a constant reminder to ease off the gas… step in the clutch… click it down a gear… brake… breathe… pray… I guess I’m still under the law and not under grace yet.

Anyway, my point is that speeding is in the Catechism. It is a Magesterial teaching of the Church.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
I gotta say, I suffer from lead-foot syndrome. I love driving a nice automobile fast. It is a pleasure to me, in and of itself. I just love machines of all kind. I have however, gone way overboard and It gave me great pause when I read the phrase “Grave guilt” and “Love of speed” in the same sentence of a Magesterial document of the Church!

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.

Yup, there it is, right in the Catechism of the Catholic Church!

Anyway, my point is that it is in the Catechism.

-Tim-
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Right! Thanks for reminding me of the section of the CCC! Good man!

The Catechism here is speaking of an instance when speeding can be grave…

(and not just on the road!)
 
But man… to get the SVT out on the highway in the small hours of the morning, warm summer air, the exhaust, feeling the pull through third gear into fourth… Smiling just thinking about it! Men know what I’m talking about.

Another thing. My confessor used to be an Illinois State Senator. He worked for the highway department for many years and every Sunday during the prayers for intentions he says, “Once again, let us pray for all of the police, firefighters, paramedics and nurses who risk their lives daily for the safety of our community. Let us pray to the Lord.”

When I confessed reckless driving he yelled, “What? What? Were you drunk? What do you mean you were driving recklessly???” He didn’t stop there either. I thought to myself, “Jesus is yelling at me. What am I gonna do?”

Man, God has a way, doesn’t he?.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
But man… to get the SVT out on the highway in the small hours of the morning, warm summer air, the exhaust, feeling the pull through third gear into fourth…

Smiling just thinking about it! Men know what I’m talking about.
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Avoid temptation…and near occasions…
 
wow thanks for the replies on this. looks like im going the speed limit (or close to it…) from now on. ill admit i scare myself sometimes with my driving. not a good sign.:o
 
surritter said:
Forget the nuancing. It’s a sin, because it is disobedience to civil authority.
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This right here kind of sums it up.

Is it a sin to go over the speed limit if everyone else is doing it? Would the whole “keeping with traffic” argument mean that its not a sin?
 
smichhertz said:
This right here kind of sums it up.

Is it a sin to go over the speed limit if everyone else is doing it? Would the whole “keeping with traffic” argument mean that its not a sin?
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Read my post above. (The intention of the lawgiver can play into things…so it is not such a simple “yes it is a sin” to speed cause that law is there…)

(and yes it can within reason play into it…as well…like if the speed limit is 55 and everyone is going 65 …it can even be a danger to even go the 55)
 
kbwall said:
Speeding doesn’t put people in danger. Bad drivers who speed put people in danger. One can drive wrecklessly at slow speeds as well as fast speeds. And on long stretches of interstate, speeding doesn’t hurt anybody or put anybody’s life in danger as long as you know what you’re doing.

This is especially true if the speed limit is put rediculously low.
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No matter how good the driver speeding increases the risk of a serious injury in a crash. Even good drivers are not immune to accidents, for example a recent crash around here involved a car losing control on an icy road and finding itself in the path of an oncoming vehicle that did not have the time to react.

That said one should also consider the fuel impact. Fuel is increasingly a scarce and expensive resource. Fuel price is controlled by supply-and-demand. The more we use, the more we drive up prices and we deplete the resource faster. This has impact on all of us. For someone on a tight budget, the effect can be particularly difficult.

For example my car, in summer, consumes about 6.5 L/100 km at the legal freeway speed limit (100 km/h), but if I do like everyone else and drive at 120 km/h, my consumption goes up to about 7.2. That’s an increase of about 11%, which on about 20,000 km of annual driving, represents an extra 140 liters a year. Not much you say, but multiply by say 10 million cars on the road, and that’s a pretty incredible 1.4 billion liters or 370 million gallons of fuel wasted annually.

It may not be a mortal sin to speed, but I do believe it is at least a venial sin.
 
This is one of those rare occasions when the right answer here is not something I entirely agree with (although I am obliged to obey anyway).

My first thought is that it is not a sin, but then others here have nailed it down pretty tightly with the CCC among other things.
 
vz71 said:
This is one of those rare occasions when the right answer here is not something I entirely agree with (although I am obliged to obey anyway).

My first thought is that it is not a sin, but then others here have nailed it down pretty tightly with the CCC among other things.
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the CCC is addressing grave sin…(endangering …)

it can be venial sin…

or no sin.

(see post above on intent of lawgiver…)
 
Good point about keeping up with traffic. I still stand by my statement that it’s sinful unless you have a good reason. If it’s really unsafe to go the speed limit because everyone else is speeding, then that may be a good reason.

What’s sinful is to knowingly speed just for the fun of it and not care a whit about the posted speed.

Here’s another analogy: cell phones are prohibited from use on airline flights (in the air). But on Sept. 11, several people used cell phones to call loved ones or the authorities. That’s not a sin, because the man-made law was reasonably violated for an excellent purpose.
 
Bookcat said:
Read my post above. (The intention of the lawgiver can play into things…so it is not such a simple “yes it is a sin” to speed cause that law is there…)

(and yes it can within reason play into it…as well…like if the speed limit is 55 and everyone is going 65 …it can even be a danger to even go the 55)
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Sorry, I missed that. I see your point and I’m kind of on the fence. On one hand, I’d say its fair to assume that you can drive 5 to 10mph over the speed limit and not get a ticket. I’d also say that most people do it, and it is not reckless or endangering lives.

BUT you still CAN get a ticket. I can get a ticket for going 1 mph over the speed limit. It’s hard to say that a law like the speed limit is subjective when there is a clearly posted exact number that you are not allowed to exceed. So if I am able to receive a ticket for the behavior I am doing, can I seriously argue that I am not breaking the law?

I think we can all agree that driving a few mph over the posted speed limit is certainly not a mortal sin. And most likely an extremely slight sin. But not a sin at all? I’m not so sure you can say that when you are still technically breaking the law.
 
smichhertz said:
Sorry, I missed that. I see your point and I’m kind of on the fence. On one hand, I’d say its fair to assume that you can drive 5 to 10mph over the speed limit and not get a ticket. I’d also say that most people do it, and it is not reckless or endangering lives.

BUT you still CAN get a ticket. I can get a ticket for going 1 mph over the speed limit. It’s hard to say that a law like the speed limit is subjective when there is a clearly posted exact number that you are not allowed to exceed. So if I am able to receive a ticket for the behavior I am doing, can I seriously argue that I am not breaking the law?

I am not saying that you are not breaking the posted law…but the intent of the law giver can be argued to be that one be around that speed (see my other exceptions etc) …and often the police do not enforce at that speed the posted speed (which can point to he intend and the understanding of the law). Though yes if you get a ticket for even only 1mph over…you have to pay it. One idea that can perhaps enter here is the idea that some laws are “purely penal laws” that is laws that bind in conscience in the sense that if one gets penalized for acting contrary to the law then one is bound to pay the fine…but if not …one is not sinning per se to not observe it. I think at least in what I am talking about one could say that non-dangerious speeding of say 5 mph or so in non-school zones and the like…can be seen as at least in that sort of category. Yes if one gets ticketed for going 59 in a 55 zone…one has to pay (it is a sin if you do not). But if one goes 57 in a 55 zone it is not sin. But if you go 105 in a 55 mph zone then that is by nature sinful …and I would say gravely so (see CCC) due to even the risk to life …

I think we can all agree that driving a few mph over the posted speed limit is certainly not a mortal sin. And most likely an extremely slight sin. But not a sin at all? I’m not so sure you can say that when you are still technically breaking the law.

see above
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Now I am not encouraging speeding…but just trying to say that going over a small amount is not necessarily any sin…
 
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