How (not) to drive in Firenza

Lol
Well it is the law

Too bad they couldn’t come up with more to charge this guy with! He deserves it!

they couldn’t come up with more to charge this guy with

Did he enter the ZTL? Add 140 $ on top.

Via dei Gondi street in what local officials described as a “nonsensical” way.

In case anyone is wandering: "nonsensical" is a google translation of the Italian word for "against traffic" or "wrong way".

Interestingly the fine for entering the ZTL would have been only just about 80 euro. (although to drive against the flow of traffic is about 160+ euro).

But the minimum fine for driving without an IDP is 408 euro, hence the bigger amount.

On the left here is Via dei Gondi. At the end of it, in the background, is Piazza della Signoria, but as you can see on the left, there is a DO NOT ENTER sign, as the street is a one way street where you can only drive away from Piazza della Signoria, not toward it. As Dario mentioned, CNN Google translated the Italian "Controsenso" (against the flow of traffic) with "nonsensical".

Another brick in the "stupid US tourist" wall. I hope this guy gets a bunch more fines from ZTL violations.

It's good that he was apprehended so quickly but unfortunately I doubt that a $506 fine will be much of a deterrent to someone who can afford to own or rent a Ferrari. It's likely he will also get some ZTL tickets but those probably won't change his driving habits either.

Perhaps it's time to consider variable fines that can be increased if necessary.

Sure hope Tom..mn sees this. His contention no one is ever fined for not having an IDP, is now demonstrably untrue.

The Italian vehicle code at art. 135 says that the minimum fine for driving without an IDP is €408. I am willing to bet that in other circumstances the Italian police or Carabinieri might give you a break and let your get away with just some scolding. But if you have the nerve to drive inside a pedestrian area without special permit, and on a one way street against the direction of traffic, chances are that the police will throw the book at you. What would happen to me if I drove in San Francisco on a one way street against the flow of traffic? They might even shoot at me!

Roberto, if you drove wildly in San Francisco, a police Bullitt would be aiming for you, in a dark green Mustang!

AAA can get you an IDP at minimal cost. Certainly less than 400 euros.