Q&A: Driving Speed
Driving Speed
Question
Hello and blessings,
I saw that you wrote that from the standpoint of the law of the land one must obey traffic laws, but from the standpoint of Torah law regarding entering into danger, it is the public norm that determines things in terms of value, and not the determinations of traffic experts, since that is not their area of expertise. What you wrote is very persuasive, but regarding what you said that common practice determines it: here we are not talking only about a person endangering himself, but about a person endangering others as well—doesn’t that make the threshold higher in such a case?
Answer
I believe I noted that there. In general, I don’t think it makes a difference. Someone driving on the road does so with the understanding that people drive the way they in fact drive. The threshold could be higher only in the sense that if you are a person who takes risks beyond what a reasonable person would, there might be room to allow you more leeway in violating the law as far as your own risk is concerned; but because you are endangering others, you must drive according to the standard of a reasonable person.
Discussion on Answer
It doesn’t require permission. My claim is that this is the norm that determines the law. In the language of the halakhic decisors, this is described as “The Lord protects the simple.”
I didn’t understand the statement, “Someone driving on the road does so with the understanding that people drive the way they in fact drive.” A person has no authority to permit someone else to endanger his life, just as he may not harm his body.