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Is Driving Without Insurance A Mortal Sin?


Brother Adam

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homeschoolmom

Frankly, I don't think an hour walk merits driving w/o insurance. I used to have to walk to work (in the MN winter) in my polyester uniform... don't ask...

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That would be pretty cold.

I've walked to work in the middle of the winter too. I walked everywhere for a long time.

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BullnaChinaShop

I don't think it is prudent to drive without insurance but I think whether it would be a sin or not would have to do with the way the person drove.

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Ash Wednesday

I don't know about it being mortal in all cases, but it certainly is a huge and foolish gamble. It certainly would be some sort of sin if done on a regular basis and someone just didn't care.

If I didn't have insurance I'd ride my bike, and only drive if it was an emergency.

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[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Sep 2 2004, 09:51 AM'] Maybe, maybe not. Stealing food becuase you are hungry and have no means could fall into grave too in certian circumstances. I guess it's for the Church to decide though. ;)


Dang it's good to be Catholic. [/quote]
Stealing food to avoid starvation and breaking the law to avoid personal discomfort are two different things, I think.

The ethics of driving without insurance should be evaluated in a couple of different ways.

Under civil law, driving without insurance is prohibited, and we are bound to follow the civil law unless it is directly contrary to church teaching.

As a Christian, because of all the reasons that have already been listed, driving without insurance is not a particularly loving act toward your neighbor. In a twinkle, you could leave someone in serious financial straits. In my view, this is breaking one of the two greatest commandments, and thereby could easily cross into mortal sin.

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Well, my thinking on calling it a grave sin is that it can cause serious harm to a person. If I am knowingly driving without insurance, and I hit someone's car, and they end up having to submit the claim to their insurance company and their insurance rates rise, and maybe they have to pay a deductible ... isn't that something like stealing from them? I've intentionally engaged in an action that results in loss to another person.

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homeschoolmom

And what if the other person's car is totaled? Insurance companies often don't pay enough to actually replace the car, only what it's monetary value was.

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BullnaChinaShop

I think everyone is thinking of insurance backwards. Not having it doesn't cause anything bad to happen because the bad has already happened in the form of the accident. Insurance works by reducing the negative side effects of a bad situation. Insurance in and of itself is neither morally good or bad.

I agree that is a state mandates it you should have it but if not I don't think you do anything wrong by not having it.

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homeschoolmom

I disagree. I agree that if you wish to not cover your vehicle, fine by me. But you should have liability to protect me if you should do damage to my car, health etc. If you cause damage to my car and don't have insurance to pay for it, I will have to pay the deductable on my insurance and probably pay higher premiums. This is not responsible. Driving is a privalage, not a right. If you can't afford to pay for the basic insurance, there are other ways to get around.

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Bull has a good perspective. Insurance can only become sinful because it is a civil law, because we are told to obey civil laws. Otherwise, an accident is just that, an accident.

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I was in an accident with an uninsured driver. I expirenced severe financial hardship as a result.

Driving without insurance is thoughtless, irresponsible, and ILLEGAL. It causes harm to others.

As has been said before, driving is a privledge. It is not a neccesty, there are other modes of transportation.

It delights me to no end when I see an uninsured driver get his car impounded. If you're not responsible enough to purchase insurance, you're not responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle.

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homeschoolmom

[quote name='T-Bone' date='Sep 2 2004, 03:05 PM'] I was in an accident with an uninsured driver. I expirenced severe financial hardship as a result. [/quote]
I was as well and so I may come off as harsh. I was under a great financial burden-- and the other driver was not insured.

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[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='Sep 2 2004, 03:29 PM'] I was as well and so I may come off as harsh. I was under a great financial burden-- and the other driver was not insured. [/quote]
I too, hope that I don't sound too harsh.

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