Traffic Tickets in Italy

And let the orchestra begin..

Lea,

This topic has been discussed extensively here on the HelpLine. Have a look in the "General" section to find Kent's tips for searching and have a look at some of the previous Threads.

It's important to remember that the rules of the HelpLine expressly forbids offering any advice that would allow someone to circumvent the law. It's a "fine line" though, so I'm not sure which side of the line your question falls?

You might check some of the other posts to get some idea on the range of opinions on this subject.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, it's no one's job to "tell you" about road rules. You have to learn them yourself when you go to a new place, and you didn't, and you drove into cities with ZTLs and you paid the price. Of course paying the tickets was the right thing to do, because you violated the zones. I will say though that your post is the first one I've seen (not that I see them all we have so many) where someone got a ticket for somewhere they didn't go and I certainly think it's right of you to refuse to pay that one because it should be easy enough to prove you were never in sicily (especially considering it's its own island, not like you could've secretly driven there for a day without getting gas or using a credit card or whatever!). The only real thought to offer is that it was an unfortunately expensive lesson that you should either 1) not drive into cities in Italy next time or 2) do much more research next time around.

It's two years ago...Honestly who cares?

HOwever, "we were never told of road rules" is NOT an excuse for not knowing. Travelers to the US are not told of our road rules either.

That's the job of the traveler to find these things out in advance. Otherwise you may find it's costly to "learn on the fly"

SO before yougo this time, study up!

How did Neil know where I was sitting?

We drove a pretty big swath through Northern Italy without any tickets, so it is possible not to be ticketed if you are careful. I crammed on both driving rules, signage and language before I went which helped a lot.

The one thing I do differently now is pack a GPS but I still don't know if those will keep you out of no-traffic zones. In downtown DC my TomTom directs me around a section of Hwy 66 that is all HOV (even during hours where HOV isn't in effect) so I suspect it may be programmed to help.

Oh, no, no, no. Sorry, Doug. I will not be dragged into this one again. My new cause celeb is "flat-irons in Europe" and all my efforts go there..

Seriously, Lea, use google.com to search the helpline for this discussion. Search ricksteves.com for traffic tickets. Don't use the RS search function, it's useless.

Lea, you don't state whether these were speeding tickets or ZTL tickets. The Helpline community sits poised on their seat edges awaiting this info to determine the level of righteous indignation that should be wafted your way.

This would have never happened to you in Wales. I'm just sayin'.

Carol's not waiting. After all, explaining you already paid the tickets ain't gettin' ya off the hook.

Linda, it is uncomfortable but I like to get up and walk around every few minutes.

Can we please get back to the important issues like the life-defeating horror we feel at the realization our footwear caused someone to suspect we are, gulp, a tourist?

Thanks to all of you who have given me useful information. I have learned my lesson to familiarize myself with Italian traffic laws. I paid a high cost for my education, oh well.
I have read about scams with regard to getting these tickets (mine was ZTL and NOT a speeding violation). The fact that I was being charged for a traffic violation in SICILY where I never went, made me think that I was being scammed. I had to have my lawyer write to them and have not heard from them since.
They also automatically charged my American Express without my permission, which I contested but, when Amex went back to Auto Europa, they don't have my 2 year old files anymore. Mind you, I got the tickets more than a year after I got back to the States. I then asked Amex to change my card number so they can't automatically charge anything.

This isn't stopping me from driving a car there, just more careful in reading the signs.

No problemo. I handled that topic too...BTW, let me know if you need any sage advice on the best flat iron for straightening your hair in Wales.

When we were in Italy 2 years ago, we also ended up getting tickets from several cities without pictures. They started us sending the notices of infractions and we paid 2 of them. When the third one arrived....we refused to pay it because we feel like they are just taking advantage of tourists in Italy....and now we do not have any interest in returning to our motherland....because infractions are just a "big business" for the local authorities.

When we were in Italy 2 years ago, we also ended up getting tickets from several cities without pictures. They sent 2 notices of infractions and we paid them. When the third one arrived....we refused to pay it because we were not certain about the validity of the claim or is it that Italian authorities are just taking advantage of tourists. we will never go back there ever....

because infractions are just a "big business" for the local authorities.

Of course they are. Everywhere. The City of Calgary would have a huge hole in their budget without the income from parking and other traffic tickets ... And I paid my share of them. Never occured to me that this should be a reason to move away.

I just got back from Italy for a 12 day trip and decided NOT TO DRIVE this time - we got around just fine via train, metro (in Rome) and walking (in Florence). We figured it's much cheaper to take the shuttle to the Outlet Mall outside of Florence instead of driving and getting lost and GETTING MORE TICKETS.
I did ask the concierge desks of the hotels and they said that, if we were to drive in to their hotel next time, we have to inform the front desk and they'll pay the tickets for us since we're staying in their hotel which is inside the city limits. It's good to know this. This is also true for car rental agencies that are within city limits - of course they never tell you about it unless you specifically ask.

Ah, well, this is not keeping me away from Italy for sure!