"10 Commandments" for good motorists

Vatican issues "10 Commandments" for good motorists (Reuters, June 19, 2007): Excerpts

Thou shall not drive under the influence of alcohol. Thou shall respect speed limits. Thou shall not consider a car an object of personal glorification or use it as a place of sin.

A 36-page document called "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" contains 10 Commandments covering everything from road rage, respecting pedestrians, keeping a car in good shape and avoiding rude gestures while behind the wheel. The document's Fifth Commandment reads: "Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin."

Alright, all you Hummer drivers out there, mover over and let my Deux Cheveaux have a piece of the road.

Of related interest: "The new driving commandments" (Crowhill Weblog, June 25, 2007):

Part of me wants to say (as a friend did in email) “The Vatican can’t deal with the sex-abuse crisis, or rein in the weirdoes who mess with the liturgy, and this is how they spend their time?”

But the more sensible part of me realizes that just because they fail miserably at some things doens’t mean they can’t do anything else. Life must go on.

Another part of me wonders whether it’s good for the world to get driving advice from Italians, who (from all I hear — I’ve never been there myself) are pretty awful at it.

OTOH, maybe that’s why it became a priority at the Vatican.

[Hat tip to Greg Krehbiel]