I urge you in all seriousness to listen and/or watch the shiur (available on TorahAnytime.org) entitled: Driving Halacha & Hashkafa; given by R' Shraga Kallus. Doesn't sound so interesting? Let me motivate you.
Let's start back a few years ago, when R' Fuerst was still giving his Monday night shiurim to בעל הבתים/non-rabaim/regular Joes. We had just learned that one may not turn over a Jew to the government authorities if said authority would impose a harsher punishment than the Torah. To do so is a horrendous crime and the perpetrator is known as a מוֹסֵר and/or מַלשִׁין -- an informer. Klal Yisrael has suffered terribly from informants throughout this long, bitter diaspora. So much so, that their deeds engendered the one addition to our shmone esrei prayer; an entire dedicated to their eradication.
Imagine our shock, therefore, when R' Fuerst further informed us that it is an obligation to call the police if you see a Jew speeding through our neighborhood and (essentially) ignoring stop signs. "They are putting lives are risk," the rabbi said. When you listen to the shiur from R' Kallus referenced above, you'll hear that R' Wolbe put it even stronger -- "A reckless driver has the status of a רוֹדֵף/pursuer."
Here's another way to think about it. A person with and AK-47 attack rifle has the potential to kill 30 people (with a standard magazine). A guy driving a car with even half a tank of gas? Lots and lots.
What does this all mean? As discussed an an earlier TftD (The Law of the Land is the Law...), simply doing something that could get you a ticket is probably not usually a violation of halacha. On the other hand, driving recklessly puts you in the category of a רוֹדֵף/pursuer. That is both a leniency and a stringency. The leniency, obviously, is that in good weather and light traffic, driving a few miles over the speed limit does not cross that line to רוֹדֵף/pursuer. However, the stringency is that even driving at 20 mph in a 40 mph zone when the conditions -- weather, traffic, pedestrians not being careful, etc -- can easily put you over that line. Worse, it is a judgement call -- both in halacha and in civil law.
How easy is it to slip across that line? I an an avid-ish bike rider. I am very careful with rules of the road. I want the cars to respect me, and so I ride my bicycle in a respectable fashion. Why not on the sidewalk? First, it isn't fair to the pedestrians. Second, it is a 50$ ticket (yes; really). There are times I will ride on the sidewalk for short, straight distances -- if there are no pedestrians and the vehicle traffic is making the roads unsafe for me. Why straight? Last night I was walking home from ma'ariv. On the sidewalk after having crossed at the light, after having waited for the walk signal. As I walked past a building on my way home, a guy on a bike came tearing around the corner of the building from the alley onto the sidewalk. Fortunately, I was able to stop short and avoid getting hit. I believe he noticed me as he continued on his way; hard to tell. One thing is certain -- even though he surely thought there was little foot traffic at night and even though he was on a bicycle... he just as surely crossed that line to רוֹדֵף/pursuer. Had he hit me, he certainly would have gotten that 50$ ticket (assuming he stopped to make sure I was ok), and he certainly would have had an interesting Yom Kippur.
One more thing, a "Word to the Wise", if you will: when driving conditions are dicey and it would require שאלת חכם/asking your rav. This is absolutely, positively, not the right time to whip out your cell phone -- even with speed dial -- until you are safely parked out of harm's way. So maybe be stringent with yourself on this one until you do have a chance to call your rav. That line between "permissible, after the fact" and רוֹדֵף/pursuer is awfully thin.
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