Driving in Italy
The Italian rules of the road - are you a pop or an opera person?
Driving in Italy is an experience not quickly forgotten. The following view of driving in Italy is light-hearted but it nevertheless is based on observation of how real Italians behave on the highway.
On the road
Traffic lights
These are generally well observed but the choice of lanes is not. The car next to you may well be in the 'straight ahead' lane but this should not be taken as any form of guarantee that it won't turn left by cutting across in front of you.
Motorway slip roads
The notion that these are an opportunity for motorists to a) get their car up to speed and b) wait for a gap in the traffic in the slow lane is utterly alien. The driver of a car on the approach slip will consider that he or she is already on the motorway and that as a car ahead of you, you should be the one to accommodate them and not vice versa.
Direction signs
The general perception is that you must know where you are going otherwise why would you be going there? Accordingly direction signs are more like the confirmatory signs that we are more familiar with. Expect them to appear after you have made the choice. Where the direction sign is before a junction, then it will almost certainly offer choices from opposite ends of Italy like Turin - Rome or Bologna - Bari which seem meaningless to anyone just wanting to go one junction up the road!
Indicating
No-one indicates unless it is by mistake. The use of an indicator suggests a commitment to a particular route or course and this has all sorts of legal implications to the Italian mind. No indicator does not mean the oncoming car is going straight ahead - it could be about to stop, turn left, right or reverse. If up or down were possible, it would mean those too.
Overtaking
The best place to pass on a road is approaching a bend since the assumption is that no-one else would be daft enough to be doing the same coming the other way. A 'No overtaking' sign means the road is only wide enough to accommodate three vehicles side-by-side as opposed to dual carriageway and 'speed limit' signs refer to the minimum recommended speed.
Other road users
Other vehicles are deemed to be either obstacles (if they are slow moving) or competitors if they are a bit faster. A complete stranger will see it as a personal challenge to beat you off of the lights but, unlike other cultures, will not get angry should you beat them.
Inside the car
Mirror
A car is seen to be an extension of one's living space and thus its contents and facilities are perceived as being more to do with living than driving. For example, a mirror's sole function is to help maintain your coiffure. It is nothing unusual to see both hands off of the steering wheel - one readjusting the mirror and one combing hair, applying make-up, etc etc.
Telephone
Despite legislation to the contrary, when driving in Italy, it is almost considered a motoring offence not to answer a call while operating the vehicle and it is perfectly standard to see a driver with one hand clutching a mobile phone and the other gesticulating to an empty car seat.
Radio
Since there are basically two choices of radio station - one playing wall-to-wall opera and the other a string of almost identical-sounding Italian pop classics (they all tell of how una ragazza girl with whom you are in amore love has left you on the strada road and vita life has stopped for you), do not be surprised if a short stop at the traffic lights makes you feel like you are stuck in the middle of a multi-speaker hi-fi system.
Headlights
Flashed aggressively two or three times by the car behind you (the one that has magnetically attached itself to your boot at about 80 mph in the fast lane) when it wishes to leave your acquaintance in favor of another vehicle 100 metres or so up the motorway. Headlights are also used to indicate the car coming towards you is moving into a space - ie 'out of my way'.
We hope you enjoyed our lighthearted guide to driving in Italy.
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