Driving- Roman Style!
Discussion
So, having spent last week in the capital of Italy ogling the women and doing the touristy bit i find myself back in the land of the vandalised gatso...:hehe:
Observations of the Roman driving style have led me to conclude that A) Theyre all nuts and B) Speed isnt the killer our authorities are claiming.
I have complete confidence in that belief due to the fact that almost every car i saw in Rome had a dent or some kind of low speed impact damage...apart from the Gallardo and the Ferrari driving around the Piazza Cavour who were spotless and being given a wide berth and admiring glances by all. ;)
The general standard of driving in Rome is appalling, at least to the casual onlooker, with near misses between scooters and pedestrians, buses and cars being the norm.
What i found is a complete lack of perturbence (new word?) with the situation by the locals.
Step out onto a crossing and prepare to get run over.
In Rome, green means go. Amber means go and red means go.
Amazingly, it all just seems to work.
It must come at a price, as insurance premiums must surely be exhorbitant.
Having said that though, i doubt if Romans even bother to report an accident, let alone claim for them!!:hehe: and the amount of abandoned cars on the side roads (anyone want a fiat 126?) is staggering.
Travelling to Florence (Firenze) on the Eurostar express...yes i took a train......what?(shrugs).... a member of the Carabinerie in an Alfa decided to have a shot at beating the train doing approx 110mph as the Autoroute runs parallel with the tracks for some distance.
Mr Italian plod did indeed beat the train at i estimate approx 150mph as he flew past on a lightly inhabited road. Sheer bliss.
And not a talivan or scamera in sight.
Italia i will return.
Observations of the Roman driving style have led me to conclude that A) Theyre all nuts and B) Speed isnt the killer our authorities are claiming.
I have complete confidence in that belief due to the fact that almost every car i saw in Rome had a dent or some kind of low speed impact damage...apart from the Gallardo and the Ferrari driving around the Piazza Cavour who were spotless and being given a wide berth and admiring glances by all. ;)
The general standard of driving in Rome is appalling, at least to the casual onlooker, with near misses between scooters and pedestrians, buses and cars being the norm.
What i found is a complete lack of perturbence (new word?) with the situation by the locals.
Step out onto a crossing and prepare to get run over.
In Rome, green means go. Amber means go and red means go.
Amazingly, it all just seems to work.
It must come at a price, as insurance premiums must surely be exhorbitant.
Having said that though, i doubt if Romans even bother to report an accident, let alone claim for them!!:hehe: and the amount of abandoned cars on the side roads (anyone want a fiat 126?) is staggering.
Travelling to Florence (Firenze) on the Eurostar express...yes i took a train......what?(shrugs).... a member of the Carabinerie in an Alfa decided to have a shot at beating the train doing approx 110mph as the Autoroute runs parallel with the tracks for some distance.
Mr Italian plod did indeed beat the train at i estimate approx 150mph as he flew past on a lightly inhabited road. Sheer bliss.
And not a talivan or scamera in sight.
Italia i will return.
There is nothing wrong with Roman drivers. Except when a bloody tourist gets involved!
I learnt to drive there and found learning here (two years later) was a complete nightmare.
What is all this looking in the rear view mirror? Who cares what is going on behind you? Ok look in the mirror for overtaking but he who is behind take care.
As you say there are lots of minor altercations, but there are lots of handsignalling and shouting, there is minor league road rage. (might mess the clothes up if it went further).
Oh and the horn tooting is fun.
You are allowed to sound your horn if a nice looking bloke (woman if that is your thing) is walking/driving past, if you pass a relation/friend, just for the sheer hell and joy of it and occasionally if someone tries their luck at pulling out in front of you.
Italians do appreciate a good bit of automotive design and give it the space it needs and the appreciative audience. (non of that stupid UK jealousy thing).
Elizabeth
I learnt to drive there and found learning here (two years later) was a complete nightmare.
What is all this looking in the rear view mirror? Who cares what is going on behind you? Ok look in the mirror for overtaking but he who is behind take care.
As you say there are lots of minor altercations, but there are lots of handsignalling and shouting, there is minor league road rage. (might mess the clothes up if it went further).
Oh and the horn tooting is fun.
You are allowed to sound your horn if a nice looking bloke (woman if that is your thing) is walking/driving past, if you pass a relation/friend, just for the sheer hell and joy of it and occasionally if someone tries their luck at pulling out in front of you.
Italians do appreciate a good bit of automotive design and give it the space it needs and the appreciative audience. (non of that stupid UK jealousy thing).
Elizabeth
Indeed having lived there I can confirm that Insurance is, in my experience, cheaper than here (but have you ever tried getting a payout from an Italian ins co?
) and they don't penalise the new driver as much as we do, insurance is for the car not driver.
Standard of driving appears worse than it is to the outsider but the system, or lack of it, works pretty well over there.
The police generally only enforce speeding where innapropriate or dangerous and Italian Super cars appear to have an exemption from Autostrada limits (that's what you bought it for).
A biking friend of mine over there was a Carabinieri officer and we used to enjoy 'high' speed runs on the Autostrada without fear of prosecution
Also there are very few kids run over, despite the fact that drivers only stop at at pedestrian crossings to let beautiful women cross , as they learn that roads are for cars and 
DO NOT WALK IN THE ROAD exept with extreme caution.
They have recently brought in a system of licence points along with a raised M'way limit (on 3 laners) to combat road deaths but in reality they only target the more blatant abuse of speed or dangerous driving.
) and they don't penalise the new driver as much as we do, insurance is for the car not driver. Standard of driving appears worse than it is to the outsider but the system, or lack of it, works pretty well over there.
The police generally only enforce speeding where innapropriate or dangerous and Italian Super cars appear to have an exemption from Autostrada limits (that's what you bought it for).
A biking friend of mine over there was a Carabinieri officer and we used to enjoy 'high' speed runs on the Autostrada without fear of prosecution
Also there are very few kids run over, despite the fact that drivers only stop at at pedestrian crossings to let beautiful women cross
, as they learn that roads are for cars and DO NOT WALK IN THE ROAD exept with extreme caution. They have recently brought in a system of licence points along with a raised M'way limit (on 3 laners) to combat road deaths but in reality they only target the more blatant abuse of speed or dangerous driving.
Worked in Milan about 12 years ago and always hired a car, happy memories of driving there and yes you are right all Italian drivers are completely bonkers, but because of that it sort of works!
You have to master the horn and the hand gesture....would be the Italian equivalent to the "The Pie & Piston"...."The Horn and Hand Gesture", it would probably be a trattoria by a race circuit.
You have to master the horn and the hand gesture....would be the Italian equivalent to the "The Pie & Piston"...."The Horn and Hand Gesture", it would probably be a trattoria by a race circuit.
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