speeding tickets

Yet another example to add to my "Reasons Not to Rent a Car in Italy" list. FWIW, they don't just target tourists.

Were you in fact speeding. It sounds like you admitted it. You owed the fine. Why is it unkind? Or did you think you would get off with a warning? If you see it as "robbery" how much would not have been "robbery"? By the way, if it had been in the UK there would have been another large charge for the "Victim Recovery Fund".

I'm afraid you have come to the wrong website if you are looking for sympathy. A $250 fine is in line with many US statse. I just paid more than that for my son's ticket (13 mi OTL) in Virginia. And we had to pay $500 for an attorney since he exceeded 80 mph. And he'll be doing 25 hours of community service. It's kind of like - you do the crime - you do the time. I bet you won't be speeding the next time you drive in Italy.

10 mph over? Or do you mean 10 kph? That is how they measure speed in Italy. And I also wonder how one could even drive 10 mph over the limit in Riomaggiore. It's not exactly like going 10 over when the speedlimit is 60 or 70. The roads we saw around cinque Terre, you woul dhave to be a race car driver to go 10 over.

No sympathy here. You were speeding, you owe the fine, you owe the bank transfer and you owe hertz the administrative fee. Pay it, don't complain about it. It has nothing to do with being unkind to tourists. It has to do with tourists not obeying the rules. Donna

My husband did the driving and not me! We have no idea if it was right the 16kilometer or 10 miles over? Do you truly and above all totally belief in technology? My husband is a slow driver mostly. If one gets beyond the mileage briefly sometimes it is because the signs are not clear or so far apart that you could miss it?
Thanks so much for all your abuse and unkindness.

Joan, no one means to be unkind. They are just pointing out that if you are going to drive in a foreign country, you are responsible for knowing and respecting the laws there. It is arrogant to think that other countries should do things the same as we do in the US. Most European countries have stricter traffic laws, maybe because their populations are denser and there are more cars in less space. It is harder and more expensive to get a driver's license in most European countries too. And there are universal traffic signs that you need to learn and understand before driving safely there. None of this is "unkind to the tourist." The Italians have to obey the same rules.

Also, this took place in Riomaggiore which is a built up Cinque Terre village with loads of pedestrians about. In order for the OP to have just received the ticket it must have been a speed camera, which are set with a degree of latitude for folk just over the speed limit. Cameras don't care if you are a local or tourist. We have one just down the road from where I live. The speed limit in Riomaggiore would have been either 50 kph or, more likely, 30 kph. 10 mph is 16 kph, so the OP's husband would have been 32% or 53% over the limit. While I have sympathy for tourists in a strange land, cars going too fast in residential tourist areas like Riomaggiore kill pedestrians too often. Its a shame there was a ticket, but the consequences could have been much worse. This is one reason that most of us here suggest taking trains to the Cinque Terre.

I guess this is an example of "highway robbery"... In France, they believe their photo radar is perfectly accurate. You can get fines for as little as 3 km/h over the limit. My DH got snagged for 6km/h (that's less than 4mph) over the limit in a 70 zone. That's less than 10% over the limit. You can't argue that their equipment might not be accurate, though.

There is nothing unusual in the cost of a ticket for speeding. Nor is it anything new. Got a speeding ticket in France 25 years ago for a similar infraction and the fee at the time represented a month of rent for me - OUCH !!! Those officers were very friendly and accurate with me. Nothing to complain about. But there was no reason to retract the ticket. Needless to say I've never speeded in France again which is exactly what these fees are designed to do.