Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- May 8
- 2 min read
Monetary, Interpersonal Laws and Din Torah (29)
Laws Regarding Cars: Parking. We have been discussing a number of monetary laws regarding cars. One relevant area is regarding parking of cars and parked cars. It is forbidden to park in places that the law [even secular law] prohibits. There are valid reasons why these areas and zones are marked with No Parking signs. Sometimes it is due to blocking the flow of traffic and people are forced to waste precious time, see Chashukei Chemed [R’ Zilberstein shlita] (1). Sometimes it can cause actual danger. For example, near pedestrian crossings, there are areas where illegally parked cars might block visibility of the pedestrian and a moving car will not have sufficient time to avoid hitting him. This is especially true where children run across the street. Also, blocking certain areas might hinder emergency vehicles, like fire trucks and ambulances, from getting around. Even blocking a private person’s spot, not allowing him to pull out, is wrong. Parking in an area made for walking, like a sidewalk, can sometimes force pedestrians to detour onto the street where oncoming cars can pose a risk to them.
Damages. If someone parks in a manner that another car has a hard time getting out through a narrow space, there are implications. If the blocked car pulled out in a normal manner to avoid the blocking car and ended up scraping him, he would not be obligated to pay (2). This might require the judgment call of a Rav or Dayan if the driver could have reasonably avoided him. [Sometimes nearby cameras that catch everything might be able to help a Dayan figure out who was truly negligent.] Similarly, even if not fully blocking, just being in an illegal spot makes other cars not expect him to be there, and can cause an accident.
Creating a Halachic Pit: “Bor”. If someone puts a bike down flat on the ground where people walk and can trip, he has transgressed the issur of making a bor and has the monetary obligations of one who damages with a bor. If someone tore their clothes on the bike, he would be exempt because of the halacha that bor is patur on damages done to keilim. Although he is patur he still committed an aveira of creating a potential damager (3).
(1) חשוקי חמד בבא בתרא לה: (2) ע' חושן משפט שעט:ד (3) מוסבר בפתחי חושן, נזיקין ח:סב