In Good Faith: The morality of jumping lights

Often, traffic violation has little to do with being in a hurry. It’s about the opportunity to leave the fellow traveller behind.

Written by Vijay Tankha | Updated: November 20, 2017 9:27 am

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Traffic rules are entirely regulative. It doesn’t matter if you drive on the left or right, as long as you drive on a particular side. (source: Thinkstock images)

There are obvious and central differences between thinking of morality and in the way that we think of traffic. While both spheres, bounded by rules and supported by sanctions, aim at a smooth and conflict- free interaction between individuals, there is an essential asymmetry between them: Traffic rules are entirely regulative. It doesn’t matter if you drive on the left or right, as long as you drive on a particular side. Like the introduction of odd-even number plates, these rules can be arbitrarily altered or suddenly suspended without our being able to complain that the air has been taken out of civil liberty.