[Avodah] Driving Without a Licence

[Daniel Eidensohn]

Zev Sero wrote:
> Without a license, one doesn't know how to drive.
>
> That statement is an obvious falsehood, no matter who is alleged to have
> said it.  It is inconceivable that any intelligent person could honestly
> say such a thing.  That is one reason why I doubt the whole story.
I am surprised at your ignorance of the literature

Rav Sternbuch (1:850) Question: A Jewish driver who normal speeds or 
doesn’t have a license – is it permitted to report him to the police? 
Answer: It states explicitly in Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 388:12) that if 
someone is engaged in counterfeiting and is thus a danger to the 
community – he should be warned to stop. If he doesn’t listen to the 
warning it is possible to report him to the police. The Gra there says 
that the counterfeiter has the status of a rodef (pursuer) even though 
he does not intend to harm others and even though the harm is an 
indirect result of his actions and even though the danger is only a 
possibility not a certainty. There is nothing more dangerous than a 
reckless driver who is speeding or one who has no knowledge of proper 
driving skills - as indicated by the fact he has no license. Such people 
are likely to kill other, chas v’shalom and therefore they have the 
halachic status of rodef (pursuer).  That is why in fact the secular law 
that requires a skilled driver with a license is in fact a just and 
obvious law for the welfare of society and we are fully obligated to 
observe these laws. Anyone who treats these laws with contempt and 
disobeys them, we are concerned that such a person can come to kill and 
therefore he deserves serious punishment – even imprisonment. ...



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