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Driving in Italy is a pleasure due to its excellent network of motorways (autostrade). This comes with a cost: Italy has some of the most expensive motorways in Europe. Italians drive fast, but they are skilled. However, it may be annoying to have them close to your bumper.
Speed limits are 130 km/h (or 110 km/h when raining) on motorways, 110 km/h on freeways, 90 km/h outside cities and 50 km/h within cities.
Italians are well known for speeding on motorways. Police has intensified the methods to check the speed and punish those who don't obey the limits, so speeding is less frequent than in the past. More and more motorway sections are covered by electronic systems that calculate an average speed of cars between two points. This means you have to obey speed limits not only when you know there are cameras or radars, but on the entire section. As a tourist, it is a good idea to keep the legal speed, as the fines are very big (from a few hundreds to a few thousand euros). Italians may sometimes flash their lights to warn you of a nearby radar.
Petrol is expensive in Italy, prices are similar to those in Germany. You can save some euros by filling your tank in Austria, before entering Italy. It seems that petrol is more expensive on motorways than in cities, but the difference is not that big.
Toll stations are usually placed at the entrance and at the exit of the motorway. At the entrance you will get a ticket that you will have to present at the exit. The toll will be calculated based on the distance you have travelled. You can pay by cash or by credit card. Watch the banners above the toll stations, to choose the right lane, depending on your preferred payment method. Italians use a Telepass, that allows them to pass without waiting to a barrier. They pay the same tolls, but these are automatically deducted from their credit card or from a prepaid account. As a tourist, you don't need such thing. Don't pass on a Telepass lane untill you have a Telepass device, as this will get you fined. The motorway tolls are very big, you will usually pay more than €20 for 400 km. You may choose to drive on national roads instead of motorways, as these are free. However, national roads pass through cities and villages, so the travel time will increase a lot.
When Italians flash their lights, this may have more meanings. It may be a warning that some radar is nearby, a warning to give way or an invitation to go first.
You should always drive with the lights on when you are outside cities.
As in most European countries, you should allow vehicles from your right to pass, unless signs show something else.
Italians use to drive after they drink, but you should not follow their example. The alcohol limit is 0.5 mg/ ml. If you are above this limit, you may receive heavy fines, license revocation or even go to jail. Police checks for alcohol frequently and they even have a plan to lower the limit.
The seat belt should be worn by all passengers. Children under 10 must stay on the back seats.
Some Italian cities have limited traffic zones (ZTL), where cars are allowed to enter only for some good reason and only in specified time intervals. These zones are monitored by cameras, so it is easy to get fined if you don't notice the signs when entering them.
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