Should Christians Obey the Speed Limit?

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De Jager

Puritan Board Junior
I think the answer is an obvious yes, but I have talked to so many Christians who just don't really think it is that important.

I live in Ontario where we have very slow speed limits:

80 km/h for most rural roads (50 mph)
100 km/h for divided highways (60 mph)

It seems as though many people treat the speed 'limit' as a speed 'minimum'. Therefore, when I go the speed 'limit', people crowd in behind me, and start tailgating.

The thing that bothers me the most is that the law is so very clear, and yet no one seems to obey it, not even the police. So if a law is never enforced, is it still binding? Should my conscience be bound by the issue?

The accepted norm seems to be to travel approximately 15 km/h over the speed limit (10 mph over). I have never heard of anyone getting pulled over and given a ticket for exceeding the speed limit by that allowed buffer, but I don't see how that permits me to consciously disobey the law.

I thought I would get support from Christians when I talk about this, but they look at me like I am a nutcase. So am I a nutcase?
 
We used to live in a small city where the police would ticket anyone 3-5 mph over the limit and we all loved it. We saw many pulled over and figured they were "out-of-towners".

I've always figured obeying traffic laws is morally sound and helps us be safe.
 
There may be some room for nuance here. William Perkins, for instance, in A Treatise of Conscience, distinguishes between weighty laws which bind men to obedience for the necessary good of human societies, and lesser laws which relate to the well ordering of the nation but are not necessary to the society and carry a fine rather than substantive punishment. He concludes that a violation of the former is a sin before God with respect to 5th commandment duties but a violation of the latter is not as long as it is not performed in a spirit of rebellion and one is willing and able to pay the penalty for the violation. Here's a part of his discussion:

 
Of course we should obey the speed limit ..... but .... in Palm Beach County a judge reprimanded police officers for bringing people to court for going a mile or two over the limit. He told the department that unless it is at least more then 5 miles per hour over the limit don't ticket the driver for speeding. So ...... I go 5 over the limit :(
 
I think the way someone obeys traffic laws is a good test of their fear of God and desire of complete holiness in all manners of life. Those who truly desire all that is good will actually stop at stop signs, will obey the speed limit, will fully stop at a right on red, etc. Of course though we might be ignorant of these areas and need to grow, but once someone has that understanding I think it would be sin for them to disobey. This isn't to compare our holiness with one another, but rather to see how serious we are about obeying God even when we don't think others notice. I guess it could be summed up as "if we aren't quick to obey human institutions, what would make people think we would be quick to obey God?"
 
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1 Peter 2:

Submit yourselves to every [lawful] ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

Romans 13:

Wherefore ye must needs be subject [to the higher powers, God's ministers], not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
 
I believe everyone should always obey speed limits. I normally do, unless absentmindedly I speed. But usually I absentmindedly un-speed.
 
Of course we should obey the speed limit ..... but .... in Palm Beach County a judge reprimanded police officers for bringing people to court for going a mile or two over the limit. He told the department that unless it is at least more then 5 miles per hour over the limit don't ticket the driver for speeding. So ...... I go 5 over the limit :(
I thought 1 or 2 mph was within the margin of error of radar detectors anyway.
 
No! Lol jk
I literally got a ticket last week :banghead:in a school zone saying I was like 15 over. I swear that the flashing light was not on, which I thought was weird at the time, then I get pulled over. Otherwise, I was going the normal speed limit.:p
 
In some places, speed limits are an example of a law the authorities do not expect us to obey rigorously, and one they do not intend to enforce rigorously. As long as the authorities are pleased when drivers merely keep *close* to the limit, it is not rebellion against authority to do exactly that. So, no fifth commandment violation if the authorities don't care.

In addition, sometimes our sixth-commandment duties to promote safety may require us to slightly exceed posted limits. If I drive the posted limit or slower on I-85 through Atlanta, my slow speed may be endangering myself or others. Keeping up with the speed of the traffic around me is better.

Where I live, in rural Colorado, the authorities do care about posted speeds and it is seldom a safety hazard to keep to those speeds. So in my case I should obey the limits (except when visiting my wife's relatives in Georgia).
 
In some places, speed limits are an example of a law the authorities do not expect us to obey rigorously, and one they do not intend to enforce rigorously. As long as the authorities are pleased when drivers merely keep *close* to the limit, it is not rebellion against authority to do exactly that. So, no fifth commandment violation if the authorities don't care.

In addition, sometimes our sixth-commandment duties to promote safety may require us to slightly exceed posted limits. If I drive the posted limit or slower on I-85 through Atlanta, my slow speed may be endangering myself or others. Keeping up with the speed of the traffic around me is better.

Where I live, in rural Colorado, the authorities do care about posted speeds and it is seldom a safety hazard to keep to those speeds. So in my case I should obey the limits (except when visiting my wife's relatives in Georgia).
Interesting. Ontario is definitely one of those places where the authorities don't enforce the posted limits. In fact, there is a clause in our highway traffic act which stipulates that it is illegal to impede the 'normal' flow of traffic.

Thing is, that clause should be subservient to the posted limits. If I am going the maximum legal speed, it should not feel like I am holding up traffic! But in Ontario it does, because the only people who drive the speed limits are 90 year olds...and scrupulous people like me. The rest view the speed limit as a minimum speed. I did too until the Lord began to convict me of this.

I am fully aware that I am bound by scripture to obey the civil authorities. It is something I take seriously. It is just hard sometimes when you try to do it, and you get tailgated by angry people. And it is harder still when Christians don't seem to think obeying the traffic laws are required.

For example, I have often heard the argument that it is safer to go the speed of traffic than to go the speed limit and have everyone pass you. But is that really true or just an excuse? Can't I trust God that he will reward the decision to obey the civil authorities? What if someone does attempt a dangerous pass and gets in an accideny and dies... is that my fault? After all, I was obeying the Lord...they were a law breaker.

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I think the way someone obeys traffic laws is a good test of their fear of God and desire of complete holiness in all manners of life. Those who truly desire all that is good will actually stop at stop signs, will obey the speed limit, will fully stop at a right on red, etc. Of course though we might be ignorant of these areas and need to grow, but once someone has that understanding I think it would be sin for them to disobey. This isn't to compare our holiness with one another, but rather to see how serious we are about obeying God even when we don't think others notice. I guess it could be summed up as "if we aren't quick to obey human institutions, what would make people think we would be quick to obey God?"
Thanks for this post.

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Only if they drive a Christian car. My car is agnostic so the rules don’t apply to me.
 
We should obey the law, but in some states the posted speed limit is not the law (AZ, NV, Montana), so saying that all drivers who move at 10-15-20 mph over the posted speed limit are somehow breaking the law is not true. In most states drivers are required to not obstruct the flow of traffic---including drivers who stare at their speedometer needles. If you get a speeding ticket in a reasonable & prudent state, the police have to show that you are travelling faster than the vehicles around you. In AZ we have in most cases, no absolute speed limits, and we do have speed limit signs, but the sign is not the law. Overtake a vehicle in a 15 mph school zone at 14 mph and you will get a speeding ticket if caught, because you cannot pass in a school zone. Drive at 15 mph over the posted speed limit, you may or may not be breaking the law if everyone else is going the same speed.
 
I agree with Jack. I used to think that going the speed limit was moral: it was the law. But now I'm more of the persuasion that I should realize what the expectation is, after listening to an excellent podcast on law vs. legislation.

In some areas, it is "cultural" to go, say, five over and everyone, including the authorities, expect it (Texas, for example). In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some authorities set the speed limits at five under what they really want in order to account for that.

That said, I personally feel most comfortable going the speed limit, but try not to cause problems by going slower than the "general expectation".
 
In some places, speed limits are an example of a law the authorities do not expect us to obey rigorously, and one they do not intend to enforce rigorously. As long as the authorities are pleased when drivers merely keep *close* to the limit, it is not rebellion against authority to do exactly that. So, no fifth commandment violation if the authorities don't care.

In addition, sometimes our sixth-commandment duties to promote safety may require us to slightly exceed posted limits. If I drive the posted limit or slower on I-85 through Atlanta, my slow speed may be endangering myself or others. Keeping up with the speed of the traffic around me is better.

Where I live, in rural Colorado, the authorities do care about posted speeds and it is seldom a safety hazard to keep to those speeds. So in my case, I should obey the limits (except when visiting my wife's relatives in Georgia).

Jack, I live in Central Florida and I4 (Daytona to Tampa) is always on the top 10 list of the nation's deadliest highways. While unfamiliarity with the roads (think out-of-state tourists) and aggressive driving are leading causes of fatalities, the #3 leading cause is driving too slow. When I first heard about that I was sure the DOT was referring to drivers going under the speed limit. Not so. It was drivers going slower than the median speed of traffic. Rear-end collisions and side-swiping during lane changes posed the biggest threat to drivers who are not at the median speed.

So, should a driver obey the speed limit on I4 or not? I am going to leave that as an unanswered question.
 
Can't I trust God that he will reward the decision to obey the civil authorities?

Izaak:

But is it really obeying the civil authorities when you yourself admit this?

Ontario is definitely one of those places where the authorities don't enforce the posted limits. In fact, there is a clause in our highway traffic act which stipulates that it is illegal to impede the 'normal' flow of traffic.

You are clearly not incapable of understanding that there are sixth commandment issues here and not only fifth commandment ones. If the civil authorities regard me as driving properly because I am going with the flow of traffic that is going, say, ten miles over the speed limit on the freeway, how am I failing to submit to them?

Why do you raise the question and insist on this scrupulous practice when you yourself admit that not only do the civil authorities not insist on it everywhere but, at least in some times and places, would find such punctilious observance to be detrimental to the safety and welfare of others?

Chris Hansen has, in Perkins' casuistry, pointed us in the right direction. There is nothing inherent in speed limits as there are in so many weightier laws. I believe most people here would know that there are places in the States (in some Western states) and Europe (the Autobahn, where it is unrestricted, has an "advisory" speed limit) that lack speed limits. Why? Because such are contextually and not universally determined. Killing and stealing are everywhere wrong (Romans 2: 12-16); "speeding" is not.

All of this is to say, that speed limits are somewhat arbitrary and if one is behaving in a way deemed appropriate by local civil authorities, even though one may be in excess of such local speed limits, then that is perfectly fine. And if the local authorities choose to fine one, submission to them is paying the fine in a timely fashion. Good stewardship and sixth commandment concerns should prompt us to seek to avoid such and to submit to what our local authorities believe to be fitting in the circumstance.

Our duty as Christians to submit to the magistrate (Romans 13), which I heartily embrace, does not mean that I am obligated to submit to everyone's interpretation of the laws but to what the civil magistrate himself requires. Should Christians obey the civil magistrate? This should be the question, and the answer is "yes."

Peace,
Alan
 
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What does one do in a place like California where it is illegal both to speed and to impede traffic, and people have been charged with both simultaneously? Seems like the only option is to avoid driving on that highway at all.
 
I think the answer is an obvious yes, but I have talked to so many Christians who just don't really think it is that important.

I live in Ontario where we have very slow speed limits:

80 km/h for most rural roads (50 mph)
100 km/h for divided highways (60 mph)

It seems as though many people treat the speed 'limit' as a speed 'minimum'. Therefore, when I go the speed 'limit', people crowd in behind me, and start tailgating.

The thing that bothers me the most is that the law is so very clear, and yet no one seems to obey it, not even the police. So if a law is never enforced, is it still binding? Should my conscience be bound by the issue?

The accepted norm seems to be to travel approximately 15 km/h over the speed limit (10 mph over). I have never heard of anyone getting pulled over and given a ticket for exceeding the speed limit by that allowed buffer, but I don't see how that permits me to consciously disobey the law.

I thought I would get support from Christians when I talk about this, but they look at me like I am a nutcase. So am I a nutcase?
We should, but find at times that I will be traveling at the rate of the moving traffic, which can be faster than posted.
 
What does one do in a place like California where it is illegal both to speed and to impede traffic, and people have been charged with both simultaneously? Seems like the only option is to avoid driving on that highway at all.

No, because almost all states even with absolute speed limits have in their law the requirement that you drive at reasonable and prudent speed. The laws were written for intelligent human beings, not computers in Google cars. If you hold a drivers license it is your responsibility to drive at a reasonable and prudent speed.
 
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