Haredim Block Shabbat Transportation Plan Meant To Prevent Drunk Driving Accidents

"'Pikuach nefesh' (saving of human life) is not on the bus, but on education about the importance of human life. Many hours should be invested in knowing how to drive without drinking, and not in buses… The problem is that young drivers couldn't care less about the law and drink and drive."

Tel Aviv: No buses on Shabbat eve
Haredi factions veto municipality's decision to operate public transportation on Friday nights
Yoav Zitun • Ynet

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai is not rushing to operate public transportation on Friday evenings, despite the high number of youths hurt in road accidents while returning from a night out in the city. The reason for the delay is the veto imposed on the decision by the City Council's haredi factions.

The initiative to operate a municipal bus line which would drive youths to the city's nightclubs and back on Friday nights has been frozen for about a year due to the objection of the mayor, who has signed coalition agreements with the ultra-Orthodox factions, which state that there will be no change in the city's status quo.

The initiative to operate buses on Shabbat eve in Tel Aviv is being led by Deputy Mayor Attorney Assaf Zamir, who told Ynet he "still hopes it will be implemented and that we will get to see this line operating on Friday nights."
 
City Councilman Rabbi Naftali Lubert explained to Ynet why the haredi factions are against public transportation on Shabbat.

"'Pikuach nefesh' (saving of human life) is not on the bus, but on education about the importance of human life. Many hours should be invested in knowing how to drive without drinking, and not in buses… The problem is that young drivers couldn't care less about the law and drink and drive."

Tel Aviv operates taxi mini-vans on Friday nights, but they only travel on main routes without reaching most neighborhoods.

According to a Tel Aviv Municipality report, there are more accidents on Fridays and Saturdays involving people aged 17 to 24 than on other days of the week.

The Tel Aviv Municipality said in response, "The mayor has stated more than once that he is in favor of public transportation on Shabbat, but the Transportation Ministry prohibits the night lines throughout Shabbat. Nonetheless, we are looking into different suggestions and trying to reach an understanding which will allow a weekend transportation service for partygoers."

The Transportation Ministry's night lines, which are operated in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area by the Egged and Dan companies, operate on Thursday and Saturday nights only due to the haredi objection.

[Hat Tip: IH.]

 

Comments

[Menachem Mendel lll]

Haredim are undisputed experts of the game.

They know by ensuring that no tax dollars are spent on running buses during Shabos more money will be available for them to bleed out of the system.

The fact that Jewish men, women and children will ultimately die as a result...
who gives a fuck!

Moshiach Uber Alles.

[harold]

Weird, to say that we should allow chillul shabos, and therefore encourage more chillul shabbos, to prevent accidents while being mechallel shabbos, which is something that one would get "misa" for.

So now let us allow the opening and closing of a gas range on shabbos because of the increased danger of fire by keeping the range on over shabbos.

[IH]

Huh, Harold.

Let's try this: to say the borough of Brooklyn should allow chillul shabos, and therefore encourage more chillul shabbos, to prevent accidents while being mechallel shabbos, which is something that one would get "misa" for.

Or, perhaps: Hatzolah shouldn't roll on Shabbos because the person they may be saving is mechallel shabbos, which is something that one would get "misa" for.

[william e emba]

Based on this article--which for all I know is wildly inaccurate--I don't see any reasoning that suggests there is a pikuach nefesh need for the busses to run on Friday night. The only argument made was that there were more accidents on Friday and Saturday nights. The need for the busses is presumably based on the assumption that the slightly inebriated would actually do the smart thing and take the busses home. Supposedly we're supposed to see that this is obvious, and the availability of busses on Tuesday nights explains the low Tuesday accident rates.

That, of course, is ridiculous nonsense. The Tuesday accident rates are low because--and I don't think I'm going out on a limb here--the amount of Tuesday night drinking is low. The clincher, of course, is the high Saturday night accident rate. The busses are running. Why aren't the slightly inebriated doing the intelligent thing? Uh, maybe because they're slightly inebriated?