Californians, like those who live in other states, worship the automobile, and it may take divine intervention to get motorists everywhere to live by the Vatican’s new Ten Commandments for drivers.

That was the view of many motorists as they contemplated "Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of the Road" — and whether it would be faster taking the 5 or the 101 between the San Fernando Valley and downtown.

The new road rules call for "courtesy, uprightness and prudence" and condemns the use of cars as "an expression of power and domination" or for sinful purposes.

But while some drivers acknowledged they pray that they’ll find a parking space, they wondered if Vatican guidelines are really the solution to stopping that black Hummer from tailgating on the Santa Monica Freeway.

This week, the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers issued commandments, along with a suggestion that drivers perform the sign of the cross before switching on the ignition. It also recommended reciting the Catholic rosary, whose "rhythm and gentle repetition does not distract the driver’s attention," as the council put it.

Roadways "shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm," states the second commandment.