The Vatican published yesterday the 10 Commandments for the Road. Now this is not about religion or the Catholic Church telling us what to do, it just a mere suggestion. Every year more than a million people die in car accidents (I think that is the accurate statistic—heard it on the news this morning)…being in part from Miami I feel this suggestion is important. Just from high school there have been several people that have perished due to car accidents and it hasn’t even been 10 years since I graduated. So a little courtesy when we drive will not be a bad thing…getting there a minute earlier is not really going to make a difference and getting all frustrated is only going to make you look older…
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.
Source: www.vatican.va
June 21, 2007 at 4:13 am
I especially like number 5. Implicit reference to SUVs? Hrrrrrmmmm…
I like these. I think more people die in car accidents than any other kind of accident, no? The lack of civility on the road is just insane. Everybody rushing, everyone in competition…
On a lighter note, did you know there were originally more than 10 commandments but they got cut down because people couldn’t abide by so many rules?
Here were two that didn’t make the final cut, courtesy of theological scholar Father Guido Sarducci:
11. Never feed a dog chicken bones.
12. Be a-careful when you a-use a Q-Tip in your ear. You don’t a-want to a-poke the canal.