Speeding at yellow light a sin?

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I was on my back home from a confession. I was in a turning lane going left, the arrow was green, I sped a bit to get through before it turned yellow, but right before I was about to turn left, it turned yellow, but I decided to keep going. I probably had some seconds to stop in order to prevent running the yellow light. Was it a sin that I kept going? I feel bad because I just had confession and I want to go to mass tomorrow morning:(
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I was on my back home from a confession. I was in a turning lane going left, the arrow was green, I sped a bit to get through before it turned yellow, but right before I was about to turn left, it turned yellow, but I decided to keep going. I probably had some seconds to stop in order to prevent running the yellow light. Was it a sin that I kept going? I feel bad because I just had confession and I want to go to mass tomorrow morning:(
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In California, where I live, it is not illegal to go through a yellow light. I really doubt that if you were in a turn that you were exceeding the speed limit even if you hit the gas. Does not the yellow light indicate that the red light is coming? I REALLY doubt there was any sin here and I think that you are being really hard on yourself. I’m sure this must follow suit in other aspects of your life. You should seek the advise of a priest in order to make sure that you are not becoming scrupulous.
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I was on my back home from a confession. I was in a turning lane going left, the arrow was green, I sped a bit to get through before it turned yellow, but right before I was about to turn left, it turned yellow, but I decided to keep going. I probably had some seconds to stop in order to prevent running the yellow light. Was it a sin that I kept going? I feel bad because I just had confession and I want to go to mass tomorrow morning:(
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Do you have a problem with scruples?
 
johnnyt3000 said:
I was on my back home from a confession. I was in a turning lane going left, the arrow was green, I sped a bit to get through before it turned yellow, but right before I was about to turn left, it turned yellow, but I decided to keep going. I probably had some seconds to stop in order to prevent running the yellow light. Was it a sin that I kept going? I feel bad because I just had confession and I want to go to mass tomorrow morning:(
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Of course that was not a sin. If you have let things like this prevent you from attending mass, then you need to speak with a priest. You are obsessing over little things.
 
Going through a yellow light is not even a crime, let alone a sin!
 
If you had to speed I would say yes it was a sin. You violated a traffic law and that means you potentially endangered others. If you had time to stop you should have stopped.

I simply can’t tell you how many accidents I have witnessed because someone “gunned” a light. About the only time a person might be excused for doing that is if they notice the guy behind them is not going to stop. That would be a matter of self protection I guess, but you have to make that split second decision about others getting hurt if you gun the light.

The only time I was in a car when that choice was made I was with my grandparents. A giant cement truck that was behind us had lost it’s brakes. It was move or all of us die by being run over. My grandfather managed this in such a way that if we got hit, it was going to be on his side of the car. Something to ponder I guess.
 
Cricket2 said:
If you had to speed I would say yes it was a sin. You violated a traffic law and that means you potentially endangered others. If you had time to stop you should have stopped.

I simply can’t tell you how many accidents I have witnessed because someone “gunned” a light. About the only time a person might be excused for doing that is if they notice the guy behind them is not going to stop. That would be a matter of self protection I guess, but you have to make that split second decision about others getting hurt if you gun the light.

The only time I was in a car when that choice was made I was with my grandparents. A giant cement truck that was behind us had lost it’s brakes. It was move or all of us die by being run over. My grandfather managed this in such a way that if we got hit, it was going to be on his side of the car. Something to ponder I guess.
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What are you talking about? Since when was going through a yellow light a crime? It ISN’T! It just means to begin to slow down and proceed with caution. It’s not like he was going, it turned yellow, sped up, and he ended up going through the red light or anything. He was going normally and it turned yellow. No crime, and especially no sin.
 
I would ask the OP why doing something legal would be a sin.
I would ask them if all who go through yellow lights or even speed up a little should refrain from the Eucharist. Even though the OP said they wanted to go to Mass tomorrow, which even mortal sin would not preclude one from attending Mass but rather reception.
What does the OP believe Mortal and Venial sins are? Have they been Catechized correctly.

I find sometimes with scrupulous people logical thinking can quickly remedy the situation.

I do not understand scrupulosity for this reason. Though on these forum I have learned some about it and seen it often. Personally I think it is a form of pride.🤷 But again, it does not logically make sense to me at all so I really am not qualified to speak to the concept. Only say that the OP makes illogical conclusions and erroneous terms.
 
You might be suffering from scrupulosity. I don’t think this was a sin.

I believe the traffic law in most places is that it is illegal to enter an intersection when it is red (with some exceptions such as turning right). If you are in the intersection when it turns red you are not violating the law and in fact have the right and responsibility to clear the intersection.

I would not think ‘slight’ speeding to be typically sinful. The traffic rules are guidelines to promote safety but following them strictly is not always safe. If everyone else on a highway is going 75 mph and you are going the speed limit of 55 mph you are a danger to everyone else. Regarding stop lights many are poorly timed which might mean you get caught at a point when the safest thing to do is to speed up slightly to clear the intersection. Some stop lights are even set by the government in such a way as to cause people to violate the law so that they can be charged with a violation.

Yellow lights are warnings the light is about to change red. Sometimes you should keep going and sometimes stop. This is a judgement call. Since there was no malice in your thinking I don’t think it was at all sinful even if you could have stopped safely.
 
The OP has been active since his last posting on this thread, I would appreciate them to come in and comment on what has been said so far.
 
Its not a sin, and I tend to agree with other posters, if this kind of thing is bugging you, then you probably have some OCD issues.

However I can tell you going thru a yellow light is a a BIG no no in some cities, We were in Washington DC a few years ago and in my hometown this is normal to speed up a bit to avoid a red light and go thru a yellow light, but apparently in DC, other drivers get mad about this, they blow their horns, give you hand signals, etc, but in my town, everyone does it, so different driving tendencies vary from city to city, I would pay attention to what most people do in your area.
 
A yellow light is intended to let the driver know that the light is about to turn green. If traffic lights went suddenly from red to green there would be accidents caused by people coming to screeching halts. It is up to the driver’s discretion based on where they are whether or not to slow down and stop for the coming red light or to continue. As long as you don’t go through a red light, no law is broken.

I would agree with the others. It sounds as though you suffer from scrupulosity. Scrupulosity is a good problem. It means you do not want to offend God. A priest who supports all of the Church’s moral teachings should be able to help get through scrupulosity. Sometimes OCD is at work in which case a therapist may be in order.
 
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