Is Driving Without Insurance A Mortal Sin?

[jasJis]

[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.

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. [/quote]
I've been hit a number of times by uninsured motorists. The reasons have been varied. I've been broke and have driven un-insured cars due to money or paperwork problems or for convenience. Some people were taking advantage of the system. Others were struggling. There's a big difference between people driving w/out insurance and making trips as often as you or I, and people who have no insurance and drive the absolute bare minimum that they can't avoid. There's a difference between people having no insurance as a temporary problem, or having no insurance as a cheap way of life.

This is a good example how a minor venial sin can become a habit and numb you to allowing yourself to commit serious sin or even mortal sin. To have this become a mortal sin, the person would drive without extra and extreme caution, have no plans to get insurance, care little for the possible harm they would do others, would probably run or commit another scam to avoid liability if they cause damage, and couldn't really justify it with dire financial problems.

Unless you've been dead broke. I mean eating mac & coagulated milk broke. It's hard to understand what a difficult situation it is to be able to afford insurance when you need the car to get to work. I've had to do it. Now, I carry uninsured motorist insurance. I'd hate to see anyone lose their car unless the particular situation was due to pure negligence and disregard for others.

[Guest T-Bone]

[quote]I've been hit a number of times by uninsured motorists. The reasons have been varied. I've been broke and have driven un-insured cars due to money or paperwork problems or for convenience. Some people were taking advantage of the system. Others were struggling. There's a big difference between people driving w/out insurance and making trips as often as you or I, and people who have no insurance and drive the absolute bare minimum that they can't avoid. There's a difference between people having no insurance as a temporary problem, or having no insurance as a cheap way of life.[/quote]

I rarely drive my car, execpt to and from work/Mass, and to my grandmother's house, to do maintainence/yard work. Insurance isn't that expensive, if you can afford the gas to drive, then you should be able to affford insurance.

[quote]This is a good example how a minor venial sin can become a habit and numb you to allowing yourself to commit serious sin or even mortal sin. To have this become a mortal sin, the person would drive without extra and extreme caution, have no plans to get insurance, care little for the possible harm they would do others, would probably run or commit another scam to avoid liability if they cause damage, and couldn't really justify it with dire financial problems.[/quote]

People who drive without insurance are putting thier desires above the needs of others. They do not care about the damage they could inflict on innocent persons.

[quote]Unless you've been dead broke. I mean eating mac & coagulated milk broke. It's hard to understand what a difficult situation it is to be able to afford insurance when you need the car to get to work. I've had to do it. Now, I carry uninsured motorist insurance. I'd hate to see anyone lose their car unless the particular situation was due to pure negligence and disregard for others. [/quote]

I've been that broke. You do not need a car to get to work. You can bike, you can take public transportation, you can walk. People who drive without insurance are selfish, arragont, and lazy.

[homeschoolmom]

The situation that we were given by Bro. Adam was a ten minute drive vs. a 60 minute walk. While I certainly wouldn't want to walk for an hour after working, it is certainly not impossible to do so. He also said that it was within 35 mile zones, so the person in question would not be in unnecessary danger of walking along the freeway.

Driving is a luxury (certainly one that we take for granted). But if the law requires insurance, then it is wrong to advise someone in the above situation to disregard the law (I am not agruing the merit of mortal sin or not...). Would you advise someone who could not afford to renew his driver's license to drive without one?

[homeschoolmom]

double post...

[Pete-ster]

Driving without insurance is wrong. There is no excuse.

[Brother Adam]

That can still be like saying stealing bread is wrong, there is no excuse. If the situation was that you cannot get to work without driving a car, but you cannot afford insurance for a short period of time, then you don't earn money and go even further into debt. If you can't afford food and there is no other means to get it, you have to steal it. (Not saying that this would apply to anyone who has a computer and the internet ).

Also, while I'm playing on this side of the fence, whoever said insurance doesn't cost that much, is full of carp. I have friends who are white males between 18 and 24, that the cheapest they can get their insurance is 1,600 every six months. That is a lot of money. The cheapest I've ever been able to get it is $850. Often times it leaves me feeling like the government and these businesses are blood sucking vultures.

Finally, I'm not sure who everyone here is arguing with, as I searched for a post that said "Driving without insurance isn't a risk" or something. Everyone here believes it is a danger and could possibly become mortally sinful. So I'm not sure what is up with that.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Sep 3 2004, 09:36 AM'] That can still be like saying stealing bread is wrong, there is no excuse. If the situation was that you cannot get to work without driving a car, but you cannot afford insurance for a short period of time, then you don't earn money and go even further into debt. [/quote]
But you said the person [i]could[/i] get to work-- but it's an inconvenient 60 minute walk.


BTW, you still haven't said whether or not it's required by law in this person's state.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Brother Adam' date='Sep 3 2004, 09:36 AM'] That can still be like saying stealing bread is wrong, there is no excuse. If the situation was that you cannot get to work without driving a car, but you cannot afford insurance for a short period of time, then you don't earn money and go even further into debt. If you can't afford food and there is no other means to get it, you have to steal it. (Not saying that this would apply to anyone who has a computer and the internet ). [/quote]
As I said earlier, stealing food to avoid starvation and breaking the law to avoid personal discomfort are two different things. You'll have to go a long way to convince me that your friend will die if she can't drive to work. As Hsmom has said, driving is a privilege, and is not essential to the continual functioning of life. There are other ways your friend could get to work that would not involve breaking the law, and would not put her in a position of endangering herself and others.

[quote]Finally, I'm not sure who everyone here is arguing with, as I searched for a post that said "Driving without insurance isn't a risk" or something. Everyone here believes it is a danger and could possibly become mortally sinful. So I'm not sure what is up with that.[/quote]

You asked us to give opinions on the gravity of driving without insurance, and then you characterized the situation as being "highly unlikely that they would put any lives or property in danger." Although you admitted that there would still be a risk, you made it clear from this statement (at least to me) that you didn't believe it to be a grave risk. So, I and others answered accordingly.

Also, I'm wondering about your statement that this "could possibly become mortally sinful." Are you implying that driving without insurance would only become mortally sinful if something bad happened?

To me, that's like saying that randomly firing a gun into the air is only bad if it kills someone. The moral goodness or badness of an act is not determined by the outcome of the act -- it's determined by the nature of the act itself.

[jasJis]

You people need to relax. The question was whether or not driving without insurance as a Mortal Sin. There is no debate about it being wrong. The discussion was evaluating it's graveness to consider if it was grave enough to be considered Mortal and to consider if the person is realizing the gravity and doing it anyway. A Sin, in and of itself, isn't automatically "Mortal". Read the Catechism. You also have to consider the purpose of the person commiting the sin to consider whether it's a major venial sin or a Mortal sin.

[Didacus]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='338409' date='Sep 2 2004, 10:53 AM']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...[/quote]


I agree.

Except for the polyester thing and no, I'm not asking.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Didacus' post='1704845' date='Nov 19 2008, 01:43 PM']I agree.

Except for the polyester thing and no, I'm not asking.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+

[Maggyie]

My co-worker's parked car was hit in our workplace parking lot yesterday. The guilty party did not have insurance (ironically, all of us work for the same blue ribbon insurance company). Nor does the guilty party have any money to pay for the repairs. So now my co-worker has to go through her own insurance to get her vehicle fixed. Soooo not fair.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
all i can say is that there are reasons that people can't get insurance, but still have to drive. so don't judge people too harshly.

[Slappo]

Bro Adam,
Stealing is a bad example for this one reason:
Someone stealing food due to need to eat and not able to provide the means to get food on his own... isn't actually stealing. This falls under the morality of the dignity of the human person. The scenario changes if he steals an unnecessary amount of food, but to steal food for the sake of survival when no other means are currently present is not theft, not mortally sinful, and not even sinful if one's intentions are pure (I.E not for the sake of stealing, to injure the person you are taking from, etc).

As for the gravity of driving without insurance, that's a tough one... Not sure what to tell you, I'd lean towards not mortally sinful if it is done only out of lack of ability to truly pay for insurance (still not good), but if done for the purpose of saving money and therefore selfishly, maybe?

Not sure...

[missionseeker]

I definitely thought this said "Dating without insurance"...