This entertaining ANSA article describes some aspects of the current use of highway cameras in Italy - that would refer to 8,000 Italian cameras - the most in Europe, double 2nd place UK. Can you imagine getting a ticket for going over 500 mph, or for your little FIAT hitting 4 cameras in 4 minutes? The rules for use of the cameras and their management may be tightened next year to correct for inappropriate usages and placements by municipalities. Article in Italian.
https://www.ansa.it/canale_motori/notizie/analisi_commenti/2021/12/18/in-italia-la-giungla-delle-multe-valgono-3-miliardi_42671b69-04a4-4127-ba05-c5f6c216e78c.html
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
will be tightened next year to correct for abusive, and inappropriate usages by municipalities.
If the article said so it would be great news. Unfortunately it only says that a conservative MP (that's building a loyal base of consensus around this "battle") hopes that the government will do that. Since this government could be disbanded in February, if I were you I wouldn't hold my breath.
The only actual inappropriate usage described by the MP's media office and copied by ANSA is this: more than 1 municipality out of 3 does not send to Rome the annual report about the traffic tickets they give out. What a shame! Thank God those days are gone, but in the end of the day... does anyone actually care about it?
Incidentally, there are 7,904 municipalities in Italy, vs less than 400 districts and municipalities in the UK. In short, almost every Italian city puts a speed trap on the main road leading into the urban area. What's actually strange is that in UK there are around 10 cameras per district/town.
Posted by
OP
Boston
1730 posts
I have no defense, Counselor Dario, as my Italian was learned more from menus than legal texts. I inferred that the last paragraph concerned correcting some current inappropriate usages. When I ran it through Google Translate, it emerged almost as fuzzy as when it went in. I edited the post a bit to add uncertainty.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15408 posts
Nothing will change much. It’s a tax, a regressive one at that, and local politicians are addicted to the money collected by those machines to fund their pet projects. Raising taxes is even more unpopular, therefore they resort to these cameras to do the dirty work of raising revenue, especially because those who have to pay the fines often don’t vote in their jurisdiction. More often than not, people get fines in the municipalities they don’t reside in, because eventually people learn where those machines are near home, so you generally get caught by the ones in unfamiliar territories.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
You know what Roberto? There is people that see a "speed trap ahead" sign, think that there may be a speed trap ahead and get fined 1 time out of 4. They behave this way because things worked this way years ago, they are the same who ignored the ZTL signs when the ZTL were not enforced by cameras.
Then there are those who see the same sign, slow down and save the money. They are those who have understood that some things have actually changed.
Incidentally, cities that set up a speed trap can use the money made this way only for road maintenance, for the speed trap technical inspections and repairs and for safety classes. Not exactly a consensus-making pet project for local politicians, I am afraid. But any little bit helps, like the kid peeing in the sea used to say.