Driving in Italy
Discussion
Just got back from a week in the Lazio region, lovely and restful apart from taking the hire Fiat Panda out.
God, they're a nightmare on the roads out there, driving round the villages each day there was a mad Italian with one arm out of the window an inch from your tailgate in a beaten up Fiat of some description who wants to overtake at any bend, together with fizzy scooters darting around the place.
But worst of all was the journey from and to the airport on the Rome ringroad.
Middle lane morons, no indication, outside lane 120 mph traffic undertaking two lanes, original Fiat 500s in the middle lane, tailgating to such a degree it was terrifying to watch.
The thought of actually driving in Rome itself was the stuff of nightmares.
Glad to get back to the sanity of the M25 last night, it was a real joy to drive on it. Not something you can usually say.
Anybody enjoy driving in Italy?
God, they're a nightmare on the roads out there, driving round the villages each day there was a mad Italian with one arm out of the window an inch from your tailgate in a beaten up Fiat of some description who wants to overtake at any bend, together with fizzy scooters darting around the place.
But worst of all was the journey from and to the airport on the Rome ringroad.
Middle lane morons, no indication, outside lane 120 mph traffic undertaking two lanes, original Fiat 500s in the middle lane, tailgating to such a degree it was terrifying to watch. The thought of actually driving in Rome itself was the stuff of nightmares.
Glad to get back to the sanity of the M25 last night, it was a real joy to drive on it. Not something you can usually say.
Anybody enjoy driving in Italy?
I've had a crusty original Fiat Panda come past me on a downhill stretch of autostrada, mum and dad in the front, three kids not strapped in the back. It was doing about 95 with an X5 less than a metre off the back bumper trying to shove it out the way. I've driven in a lot of places, but Italy was the only place I felt I had no control over my own safety!
GPS M-Jet said:
I'm off to Italy in two weeks so this is quite eye-opening, especially as I've never driven abroad before. What have I let myself in for!
Here's a tip learnt from a hopefully not too expensive mistake I made, if you get a hire car from the airport, check it's not in reverse with no handbrake. I only wanted to put the air-con on as it was 40 degrees at the airport, not fly into the barrier of a multi-storey car-park. Really not a great start to the holiday.
Depends on where in Italy. I've driven in central Rome (never again! swarms of mopeds buzzing around, invisible in the mirrors), but also in the north east, the north west, Sardinia and Sicily. Rome was definitely the most nerve-wracking. I saw the aftermath of an accident there that involved two poor German tourists on their big BMW touring bike. There was lots of blood on the tarmac.
ETA Sicily was fascinating, people pulling straight out in front of you from side roads with the classic one arm dangling outside the car, irrespective of how fast you are going (they, inevitably, are driving as slowly as they dare). Interesting...!
ETA Sicily was fascinating, people pulling straight out in front of you from side roads with the classic one arm dangling outside the car, irrespective of how fast you are going (they, inevitably, are driving as slowly as they dare). Interesting...!
Edited by tgr on Sunday 4th September 14:23
Yes, Rome would probably strike me as one of the worst cities to drive in. Mopeds zooming everywhere and tiny traffic lights combined with a laissez faire attitude make it quite risky just to be a pedestrian there! I recall reading something in a tourist handbook advising extreme caution in Italian city centres as motorists are not inclined or expected to stop if there are pedestrians in the road, rather the pedestrian is supposed to wait their turn or get out of the way if they find themselves stepping out into traffic.
Never been to Italy, but just returned from the South Of France using motorways.
Absolute pleasure to drive on, and i really cant believe how much more respectful the French have become on the use of Motorways.
Yes, they do pull out in front of you if they are fast approaching another vehicle, but they pull back in as soon as they can once they have performed their move.
Lane discipline over there makes this countries roads look like India's.
Town driving is a little more tricky but once you get to know how THEY drive, you can adapt.
Absolute pleasure to drive on, and i really cant believe how much more respectful the French have become on the use of Motorways.
Yes, they do pull out in front of you if they are fast approaching another vehicle, but they pull back in as soon as they can once they have performed their move.
Lane discipline over there makes this countries roads look like India's.
Town driving is a little more tricky but once you get to know how THEY drive, you can adapt.
I didn't mind Italy tbh.
Speed limits? What speed limits?
There's certainly no-one sitting in Lane 3 at 68mph policing the road unlike in the UK. MLMing is frequent but I think that's owing to the lane specific minimum speed limits and the perception that Lane 1 is for lorries. Italians will always move over from 3 to 2 once the overtake is done.
More concerning in town is the apparent perception that red lights are 'advisory' rather than compulsory. Saw quite a few near misses.
Speed limits? What speed limits?
There's certainly no-one sitting in Lane 3 at 68mph policing the road unlike in the UK. MLMing is frequent but I think that's owing to the lane specific minimum speed limits and the perception that Lane 1 is for lorries. Italians will always move over from 3 to 2 once the overtake is done.
More concerning in town is the apparent perception that red lights are 'advisory' rather than compulsory. Saw quite a few near misses.
but was childs play to 6:00PN in Naples on a voting day.
Drove to Rome and back a couple of months ago including into the centre to the hotel just across the road from the Colosseum and it was much better than the UK. The only problem I have with driving in Italy is that the roads are generally in appalling condition. The contrast with the French tolls is huge.
Yes, the Italians are pretty aggressive drivers and the motorways almost as busy as ours but, if you just relax and let it flow it's fine and it works just fine. If you think the Italians are bad, can I suggest that you avoid Belgium.
Returning to the UK and the M25 on a Sunday evening was a much more stressful place to be.
Yes, the Italians are pretty aggressive drivers and the motorways almost as busy as ours but, if you just relax and let it flow it's fine and it works just fine. If you think the Italians are bad, can I suggest that you avoid Belgium.
Returning to the UK and the M25 on a Sunday evening was a much more stressful place to be.
I live in Italy at the moment, very close to the French border. I currently clock up circa 2.5k kms a month on the autoroute/strada working between La Ciotat and Genoa. all I'm going to say is that I want one of those in car video cameras just to keep for posterity some of the stuff I see. I'm sure there is equally crazy stuff in the UK on the Motorways but dont do the miles to know.
The saving grace for all this craziness out here (esp Italy), is that for all the near misses and sketchy manuvers there is next to no road rage, just shrug and keep on.
The saving grace for all this craziness out here (esp Italy), is that for all the near misses and sketchy manuvers there is next to no road rage, just shrug and keep on.
The first time I drove in Italy I was lost in a town and SWMBO said 'just follow him', pointing to the car in front. I did. He went straight up a one-way street the wrong way.
Yes, the scooters are a complete nightmare, as they now are over the border on the Cote d'Azur as well.
If you think the roads are a nightmare, wait till you try an Italian self-service petrol station...
Yes, the scooters are a complete nightmare, as they now are over the border on the Cote d'Azur as well.
If you think the roads are a nightmare, wait till you try an Italian self-service petrol station...
Driving in Italy is like dancing or rape. You really have to join in the action or it's all a bit unpleasant. It's possible to drive like a complete arse and still be relatively safe, if you potter about you'll get cut up all the time and have people up yer chuff pretty much non-stop. Just take no prisoners.
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