Traffic Laws and Permissibility of Violating Them

2-5-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

What is the sharia ruling on a person who does not respect some traffic laws when he knows that his violation of such laws will not cause accidents?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

 

Traffic laws are laid down to regulate movement on roads and organize driving therein; otherwise, chaos will prevail and accidents will become common. A driver's violation of these laws mostly results in harm, either against himself or others. Relying on the personal judgment of drivers in this regard is not appropriate given their varying conditions and assessments.

Accordingly, the public preponderant interest should take precedence over the personal uncertain interest. Hence, complying with traffic rules is obligatory, especially with regard to traffic lights and maximum speed limits and other rules of which the violation is likely to cause harm, even if they sometimes bring nothing of the sort.

Allah knows best.