Driving in Italy

On our recent holiday I drove in Italy, something I wasn't really looking forward to. Not because of any natural fear, but because various people had warned me how scary it could be. I normally enjoy driving, but I had heard multiple stories of badly behaved truck drivers all over the autostrada, people overtaking on the inside, and various other selfish and dangerous practices.

I scheduled my first Italian driving experience for a Sunday afternoon. As in France, most heavy transport is forbidden on a Sunday and I felt confident I could cope with that. I started at the top of the Alps at Claviere, drove down the mountain pass to Oulx, and onto the autostrada to Reggio Emilia. That went ok, although there was much roadwork, reduced numbers of lanes, and 60kmh speed limits. Having the temerity to drive at only 80kmh in these zones made me unpopular with all other road users, but not to the point of rage.

 

After that, I was fine. It more or less is just like driving in France - similar rules, and as far as I experienced, similar attitudes and driver skills. Even driving from our villa near Florence to the French border via Genoa which is 450km mainly on the autostrada - on a Monday afternoon -  didn't worry me.

We were lucky. We never encountered any really heavy traffic, but we saw plenty of lines of traffic heading in the other direction, especially around Florence. I have no idea how we avoided being caught up in it, but it looked no fun.

The only real issue I had was in the mountains, with drivers of exotic cars who seemed determined to use them despite the conditions - but you find that kind of behaviour wherever the road gets complicated. All in all, I found driving in Italy to be easy enough.

And these days that's about all you can really expect.