speeding ticket in Pisa

You can search on this site for discussions on speeding tickets and the related ZTL discussion. It is very likely legitimate and probably not much you can do. The proper thing to do is to pay, probably better no to do it as if you ignore it, they will increase the fine, and there are reports of municipalities, or more correctly their third party processor, using collection agencies in the US to collect.

There's not much to appeal, since you were no doubt nailed by an automated speed camera. You'd have to somehow prove that the camera was faulty, or that they nailed the wrong car. Neither is likely. Automated speed cameras are common on Italian highways.

These types of tickets are common and are not scams. You were caught by camera speeding so you'll need to pay your fines. You should get a link you can visit to see the photo that was taken. If you haven't received this yet you may not have gotten the actual fine but, instead the fee by the rental company for forwarding your information to the authorities. The actual fine will come later. Donna

I'm anticipating getting a similar ticket any day for our trip this past May. We had a car that we used for the drive between Verona and Lake Garda. I've already been dinged by the rental car agency for them to provide info to the authorities and I'm assuming it's for a camera ticket. Sigh. I'm going to pay it when we get it, but that was the most expensive day trip we've ever taken.

You broke the law. Pay it. Same thing you would expect an Italian to do in Fallbrook. The problem isn't returning later. The problem is worse than that. The fine will continue to grow over time and then will be turned over to a US collection agency who adds a bunch of extra fees and comes knocking. It is continuing story here, as reports of being contacted by a collection agency has been posted but no one has posted the results of ignoring the collection agency.

Also states I'm over the limit for the stretch of highway "OR" the type of car I was driving?? What?! This is just the literal text of the law, that has a single violation for exceeding either the road speed limit OR the vehicle speed limit, which is lower for trucks, trailers and other big/special vehicles in some cases, compared to what is posted on signs (not applicable to passenger cars).

So go to the site they provided you (I can't believe you didn't want to go and have a sneaky peek - I would have done so) and have a look at the photo(s) and see if it is your shining happy face looking back at you. If it is then they have got you and recollection or not it will be very hard to say its not you going that fast. Remember that in Europe not all speed limits are indicated by signs - you have to know the law. If it isn't your shiny face and the car isn't the one you had - you have a case. Time is important then so I'd deal with it right away. Hire a fluent Italian speaker if need be. Otherwise pay the fine, sooner rather than later.

The nearest Italian consulate can refer you to a translator, if you don't know anyone fluent in Italian.

About 6 months after our trip to Italy in 2008 my credit card company (Bank of Montreal - a large reputable Canadian bank) applied two charges of 40 euros on my card from Avis. I hadn't yet received any notice from Avis. I called the credit card company and they reversed the two charges and the paperwork from Avis then arrived, explaining they were for providing my information to the Italian traffic authorities. The two charges of 40 euros reappeared on a subsequent credit card statement, but I never did receive any traffic fines. A similar thing happened after our trip to Germany in late 2012. Charges were applied by the rental company (again, Avis....you think I would have learned!!) for providing our information to the German traffic authorities. I dug deep to rent a Porsche from Avis for a day from Berlin, so it's entirely possible I did something wrong, but still, no fines followed, and no detail of the actual traffic violation. We've rented from AutoEurope and never had any of these issues.

@Peter- At least in Italy, all rental agencies are required by law to provide your identifying information to the authorities upon request. This is not something peculiar to Avis. And all rental agencies will charge you for doing this - it's in the fine print in your rental contract.

@Peter, you don't actually rent a car from AutoEurope.com - you rent it through them. That's who we used to rent our car in Verona, but the actual car rental agency is a different company. When we got the $60 charge six months after our rental, it was a charge from the actual rental company, not AutoEurope.com.

@Zoe, "The nearest Italian consulate can refer you to a translator, if you don't know anyone fluent in Italian." This sounds like it might a good business opportunity for Roberto ;-)

@Ken, great idea! @Roberto, where are you?