THE TABLET
July 28, 2007
The Bishop's Driving Rules

The Pontifical Council on the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People, of which I am a member, issued guidelines for the pastoral care of people on the move. The guidelines made news on the airwaves and in newspapers, mostly out of curiosity as to why the Holy See, through one of its offices, would comment on the rules of the road.  The rules of the road as a moral document were more complex than the listing of the drivers’ Ten Commandments contained in the document.  Other sections concerned the pastoral care of street children, the homeless and persons involved in prostitution.  It was indeed a complete treatment and reflection of both scripture and tradition on how Catholics should behave as travelers and how to care for vulnerable groups of people.

The document describes the growing phenomenon of human ability.  Particular attention was given to the person as a driver.  Many try to escape from everyday reality by driving.  I might add that driving itself is seldom a pleasure, except on the open road.  Psychology tells us that certain instincts of domination, as well as vanity and personal aggrandizement, reveal themselves in some as they sit behind the wheel of their most prized possession, their automobile.

There are several more moral aspects to driving that need to be rediscovered.  Basically, driving means co-existing, being with others on the road and not trying to have the road as our own personal possession.  It is something that belongs to all.  Driving also means, as the document tells us, controlling oneself.  A person’s behavior is characterized by his or her capacity to be master of oneself and not be carried away by impulses.  In our country we call a lack of this control “road rage.”  I am sure we have all seen manifestations of this on the road, where for some lack of courtesy others seek revenge on those who may have cut them off. 

Driving a vehicle entails responsibility.  The risk of not taking one’s driving seriously can be life-threatening for oneself and others.  The driving rules are not merely suggestions; they hold a moral force and should be obeyed as an exercise in building up the common good.

The document mentions the virtues of drivers and suggests “Ten Commandments for Driving.”  Of course, charity, prudence, justice and hope are particular virtues that should be exercised on the road.  The  “Commandments” are printed here for your convenience, though you can obtain the whole document on the Vatican’s Web site at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/migrants/index.htm.

• You shall not kill.
• The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of moral harm.
• Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.
• Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.
• Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
• Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.
• Support the families of accident victims.
• Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can understand the liberating experience of forgiveness.
• On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
• Feel responsible toward others.
  
  
  

The Church's mission as a mother is to see ot the protection and well-being of all her children.  That is why I believe the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People has made the effort to publish a document that can be serious work for our consideration.

I, myself, am on the road frequently in Brooklyn and Queens with Deacon Jaime Varela, my assistant, who not only gets me to the places I need to be, but he also serves as my master of ceremonies once we arrive.  There are two days a week when I drive myself, so I have the experience being behind the wheel in Brooklyn and Queens.  It is certainly a unique experience for a former New Jersey driver, and I have developed my own list of suggestions that might make the roads in New York a better place to be. 

1.  Do not double park, especially when another car is double parked directly across from you and another parking space is available just several car lengths down the street.   

2. Do not pass on the right; although it is legal in New York, it is a dangerous maneuver because most people do not look to the right when they are pulling over. 

3.  Do not speed up when someone puts a blinker on to change lanes; show courtesy by allowing the driver to make that maneuver, otherwise we will never change lanes, and will be effectively cut off. 

4.  Do not wait for the honking of a horn behind you to begin driving when a green light appears. 

5.  Do not rubberneck and block traffic unnecessarily.  In Philadelphia, the locals call rubbernecking gawking.  In Boston and more sophisticated places, it is called a curiosity delay.  No matter what you call it, it is unwarranted and causes many delays in traffic. 

6.  Do not use a hand-held cell phone.  It is distracting when driving and even when crossing the street. 

7.  When speeding, do not flash your lights so the person in front of you goes at a higher speed to move out of your way.

8.  Most importantly, do not gridlock.  If there is one cause of traffic of congestion in this city it is gridlock.  Do not enter an intersection unless you can safely make it over the white line.  This lack of courtesy is perhaps the greatest cause of traffic congestion in the city.  It could be an alternative to Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing.  If you block the box, the traffic will move and idling, which pollutes the air,  will be eliminated. I am not sure if my commandments of the road could be engraved in stone, but they come from my observations.

Every time we get into a car we are really “putting out into the deep.”  We take our life and the lives of others into our hands.  It is a time when we should pray.  First, perhaps, by beginning our journey by making the Sign of the Cross and then, if possible while on the road, pray the rosary or some other simple prayer that focuses our attention not so much on where we are going, but on the safe way to get there.  Courtesy, above all, should be the rule of the road as well as the rule of our lives. 

Pass along these suggestions to your friends, relatives and neighbors.  Perhaps the Bishop’s driving rules might make New York a better place in which to drive.

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