I just received in the mail a formal driving violation from the European Municipality in Firenze, Italy. The violation is for 113(euro) for; "The vehicle cirulated in limited traffic area without authorization". I think it means I was driving or passing in the left lane too long, or when I shouldn't have been driving there. The citation specified the exact day I was driving in Italy in May 2008, 17 months ago. I don't know if I can defend myself because I was in Italy driving a rental car on the day of the alledged infraction. The notice gives me specific instructions on how to pay electronically and it surely doesn't look like a scam, they know too much about my trip (rental car, date, time & place).
Question: In the USA I could appeal by pleading ignorance and probably get off due to foreign nationality. I don't know if the courts in Italy would give a rip. What is the risk if I ignore the violation?
Any advice would be welcome.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
It's not a scam. Sounds like you've joined a couple hundred travelers who've reported (here) that they drove into the Zone of Limited Traffic (called ZTL) that blankets the historic center of Florence.
We've extensively discussed the subject and everything you probably need to know is in this topic thread, click here to go to that.
When you get to the thread, read the original post, click the links in the OP, those will give you more info on your options.
Some of the other replies on the original thread discuss paying versus not paying.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
I bet dollars to donuts that, if you don't pay it, it's going to wind up on whatever credit card you used to pay for the rental car. Plus the rental agency will charge you a hefty "administrative" fee for adding the charge, plus, there's probably a deadline with penalties for going over it. I used to throw away parking tickets in Europe. Not any more -- a few hundred-buck extra blips on your statement the month after you get home makes one stop sucking eggs.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Note the "international" no entry symbol, red circle. Also note that if they really wanted to keep people out, they would also put the sign in English, which is the language understood by most tourist, even non-native English speaking tourist.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Italian cities have traffic signs in Italian, French cities have their traffic signs in French. Why would anyone expect it to be otherwise?
Posted by
NYC area
2980 posts
We don't have road signs in other languages here in NJ. Maybe we're after the tourist violation dollars.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
The red circle is easy to understand no matter what your mother tongue is. And a large portion of tourists in Italy don't understand English.
If you add to the red circle and the Italian text also English text the sign would become rather huge and difficult to read. Few people driving by will be able to understand what it means and which line of the text will be appropriate for them. I can see the red circle in a fraction of a second while driving by and busy with paying attention to traffic at the same time. I really wouldn't want to start reading through a ton of text while driving.
I don't speak Italian and with just a quick glance at the sign posted by Lee I can see that no vehicular traffic is allowed to enter this street on weekdays between 7.30 am and 7.30 pm. And that there are some exeptions to this.
To be on the safe side as a foreign traveler I simply assume that I don't qualify for one of the exeptions.
You don't need to be able to speak Italian to drive safely and without risking fines for traffic violations. But before you go you do need to familiarize yourself with the type of traffic signs that are used allover Europe. And there are many websites out there that will explain them in English.
Posted by
Lake Forest Park, WA, USA
365 posts
I didn't pay two such tickets with no repercussions whatsoever and it's been 28 months since the violations. I say this to lend perspective to Ed's comment in that he seems to state his credit card company paid his fines but this is the first time I've heard someone state this. If you read the fine print on your credit card agreement you'll see that they won't pay your fines. At least, every agreement I've read.
I'm not saying others shouldn't pay their fines, just relating personal experience to answer the direct question, "What is the risk?"
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
Most (and probably ALL) rental car agreements have a clause stating that the renter agrees to pay any applicable traffic fines. So far there doesn't seem to have been any repercussions for those who don't pay. However if the authorities decide to get serious about lost revenue it's possible they may eventually decide to "flag" the non-payers and deal with them when they return to the country. The other alternative would be to contract with a Collection Agency, which could affect one's credit rating.
So far I've been fortunate with rental cars and haven't incurred any violations, but I'd pay if I received one.
Cheers!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Let me restate more clearly. Used to toss parking tickets. Got three in England a couple of years ago. Tossed them. A few months later they showed up on credit card since hertz/avis/whoever had added it to my card. Price was more than double what it would have been had I just paid the tickets. Now I pay all tickets.