donderdag, september 6

I. You shall not kill

II. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm

III. Courtesy, uprightness, and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events

IV. Be charitable and help your neighbor in need especially victims of accidents

V. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination and an occasion of sin

VI. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so

VII. Support the families of accident victims

VIII. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together at the appropriate time so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness

IX. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party

X. Feel responsible towards others


Cardinal Renato Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travellers:
Road and rail transport are a good thing as well as being indispensable requirements of contemporary life. It is of fundamental importance that the driver behaves responsibly and with self-control when he drives.
Cardinal Martino points out the psychology of some drivers with "domination instincts" who see road signs as


limitations:

When driving a car some people start up the engine to join a race in order to escape from the troubling pace of everyday life. The pleasure of driving becomes a way of enjoying the freedom and independence that normally we do not have. The free availability of speed, being able to accelerate at will, setting out to conquer time and space, overtaking, and almost subjugating other drivers turn into sources of satisfaction that derive from domination. Cars tend to bring out the primitive side of human beings.
Although risks are involved, the Vatican states that an appropriate outlet for domination instincts are the "practice of road sports: Cycling, motorcycling and motor racing in a healthy spirit of competition."

Vatican on cars and egos:

Cars particularly lend themselves to being used by their owners to show off and as a means of outshining other people and arousing a feeling of envy. People thus identify with their cars and project their egos onto them. When we praise our cars we are, in fact, praising ourselves because they belong to us; and, above all, we drive them. Many motorists, including the not so young, boast with great pleasure of records broken and high speeds achieved, and it is easy to see that they cannot stand being considered as bad drivers even though they may acknowledge that they are.