Driving in Sicily

Things are somewhere middle of the road. I've driven there lots of times by the way. On highways, expressway or rural roads you might encounter the aggressive driver wanting to overtake you, giving you the occasional flashing or tailgating, but that happens in US as well. Something anyone driving in Europe, in general, should be particularly aware of is that ppl are far less tolerant of those clogging the left lanes in a highway, so keep right unless passing. Big city (Palermo, Catania etc.) traffic is a bit crazy-ish, but it is not the end of the World. Mostly, you will have scooters zipping around between car lanes and a lot of people honking their horns for apparently no reason. But it is manageable: don't think it is anything concerning you, fixate your attention on driving, not watching how other people drive, and you shall be fine. As elsewhere in Italy, carry a GPS, don't panic if you suddenly take a wrong turning lane in a major roundabout - go around, or go over the next U-turn, and then come back. In other others: be prepared to make a few mistakes in city traffic directions, and give yourself ample time to negotiate traffic.

The only two places I found fairly nerve wracking was Palermo and Catania. The highways and smaller towns I didn't find any worse than elsewhere in Italy I've been to. As Andre said, don't cruise in the left lane (and if you do...do not hit your brakes if someone comes up behind you flashing lights 2 feet from your rear bumper), be observant especially when the right lane is full of trucks (they tend to jump in the left lane no matter how close or fast a car is going in the left lane) and be aware that alot of Italians, for whatever reason, tend to straddle two lanes at once and cut it close when merging into the lane in front of you after passing. You'll be ok and really I have to say, in some ways Italians are much more curteous than back home.