don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

English

Proverb

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

1. Drive your vehicle at a safe speed.
   • 2009, George Epp, What I Meant to Say was, page 120:

     Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly is one of my favourite proverbs directed at drivers.

   • 2018 February 12, “Obituaries: William Don Kelley”, in The Vienna Times & Goreville Gazette:

     Mr. Kelley often shared trucker wisdom as visitors left him to drive home. His three Rules of the Road apply to life as well as to driving: Keep the greasy side down. Watch the car behind the car in front of you. Don’t drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.

   • 2021, Lora Mae Miller, Behold the King: Jesus in Every Book of the Bible:

     Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly. Whether you're traveling or in an argument, you better stop when you see red.

2. (figurative) Do not rush impulsively into things or get carried away by your emotions.
   • 2016, Heith Copes, Mark R. Pogrebin, Voices from Criminal Justice:

     The instructor's concluding trope, “Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly,” conveyed the sentiment that agents should not let their emotions get the better of them.

   • 2017, C. J. Michaels, Ladybug, page 240:

     He gave me a facial expression of recognition, '“Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly”,' I finished with a smile.

   • 2022, Dianne G. Poppert, Beyond Living Life Underneath: Reflections and Considerations:

     How do we, who have been the doers, step back and learn to accept or even ask for help of these who are new to caregiving? Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly, they say.

Usage notes

When used to refer to driving speed, it is typically also used for the more metaphoric sense at the same time.

See also

• fools rush in where angels fear to tread