We will be driving for about 2 of our 4 weeks in Italy; the other 2 weeks are spent in France & Switzerland. I have read so many of your comments on other posts about looking for traffic signs to avoid a 100+euro ticket after arriving home. Are there any web sites I can review before we go that will show/list the Italian (& France/Switzerland) traffic signs we need to know?
Posted by
Vancouver, BC, Canada
83 posts
I think I would have come home with a mental breakdown if I tried to drive in the cities in Europe.
Be cautious of people on scooters who just drive everywhere.
Posted by
Wichita
831 posts
Gary,
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/road_signs/index.htm
Look at the bottom right.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
http://www.usag.vicenza.army.mil/sites/local/DT.asp
Click on the Drivers Guide 2009 tab.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
The sign that most people miss (and I can't figure out why) is the ZTL sign.
There a couple of examples here:
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm
As you can see, it's nothing more than the standard 'no vehicles' international road sign with a bit of extra information. Don't go past one and you'll be fine.
If you look at this, you'll see the 'no parking', 'no stopping' and 'dead end' signs.
Holy cow! That's a long one.
All other signs should be pretty much self-explanatory.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
{The sign that most people miss (and I can't figure out why) is the ZTL sign.}
ED,from what I've seen it's probably cause alot of the time the signs are posted up high, behind a pole,sign is bent over,sign is'nt clearly facing the oncoming driver and they're just plain small signs sometimes. Even when the sign is clearly posted by the time you get into that type of area you're usually paying more attention to the crowds of pedestrians,scooters and bikers you have to weave through.
Posted by
Bannockburn, IL
27 posts
Hi just got back from a Europe trip and we rented a car and drove western portions of Italy.
First we brought a GPS navigation system and that worked out wonderfully. While a map would have been fine for majority of our driving, it was the smaller roads, and the navigating in a city (Milan) where it was invaluable.
2. My more important tip however is to have a lot of euro change for the expressway tolls. There are many, many toll booths. Credit cards can be used for most (or all) but some amounts are small and change is desirable. For example we spent about 16-18 euro traveling from Milan to Mondovi (western part of Italy, about a 2.5 hour trip.).
Posted by
OP
Encinitas, CA, USA
50 posts
Barbara - thanks for the tip on having the euro change. We hope to do most driving on back roads but know that we will be on toll roads some of the time.
Posted by
Dallas, TX, USA
1170 posts
The only anxiety that I had about driving in Italy was where to park. Different cities and lots have different methods of payment, etc...
I drove the Amalfi Coast road and had a blast. It does take nerves of steel however. We did have an encounter with a large tour bus headed in the opposite direction and had to back up down the road, fold in the mirrors, and hug the cliff face for him to pass (with 1 inch to spare).
Stay out of the historic city centers to avoid driving into the ZTLs (Florence especially) or else you can receive a fine(s) in the mail 1 yr or more after your return home.
Posted by
Cesena, Italy
791 posts
You may want to think about sticking to the autostrada if driving any significant distances. Depending on the region you're in you could come up on any number of things on back roads at any given time. Farm equipement, trucks,herds of animals,herds of bikers,that one really slow driver in all of Italy that you were lucky enough to get behind,narrow roads, narrow twisty mountain roads, going through the smaller towns can be a hassle sometimes.