Driving in Italy

//Driving in Italy
Driving in Italy 2010-11-28T18:32:51+01:00
If you are travelling with your own car from abroad and you do not have your nationality on the number plate, you should get a nationality badge sticker that should be easily seen, next to the number plate on the back of your vehicle.
In Italy there are the following speed limits:
 
  • 50 kph in towns/cities
  • 90 kph outside of cities
  • 110 kph on divided highways
  • 130 kph on the motorway (autostrada) or 150 kph, only on a very few and especially indicated motorways
Motorways:
The Italians motorways Autostrade are private motorways and when entering the motorway you must get a Biglietto, a ticket, which you need to keep until the tollgate for paying before leaving the motorway. Many tollgates are automized (especially during the night). Therefore it is worth purchasing a so called Viacard, which you might find at the PUNTO BLU on the entrance of many motorways in bigger towns. If you do not have a viacard, especially during the summer time, one has to wait a long time in a traffic jam. It is possible to avoid these payment traffic jams, if one accesses in the row Carte (that is credit cards) and not at Contante (payment by cash). When you reach the machine, put your ticket inside the machine and then your credit crd. You should know that Italians usually avoid paying by credit card and only a few have a Viacard. Therefore, there often is a traffic jam at the Motorway exit. Please not that the Telepass lane is only for Telepass subscribers.

Parking:
Please note that the white stripes usually are indicated free parking, but please be careful if there is a restricted parking time (usually indicated at the beginning of the road). The blue lanes indicate that there is a parking fee to pay, whereas the yellow stripes can be the following PP (parcheggio privato) for private parking, CS (carico e scarico) loading and usually limited for 15 minutes or it is for disabled.

 
ZTL
ZTL is the Italian abbreviation for Zona a Traffico Limitato that means Limited Traffic Zones.  These are central city areas that closed to  all  non-residents of the zone. In order to access, you need a special permission. Please be careful when entering a bigger city such as Florence or Lucca. It is best to leave the car in the public parkings and continue on foot or by public transport. Some do also offer a park&ride or park&bike service.

Italian Traffic Radio:

Useful Weblinks: