After 45 years of teaching history and coaching basketball in college and in high school my wife and I were able to take a dream vacation to Europe in August 2013.
We spent the month driving throughout Europe and had a wonderful time.
Eight months later I received a speeding ticket from Rome stating that I was speeding 7 miles over the speed limit-caught on camera- and I had to pay $80..
The ticket was issued by the Corpo di Polizia Roma Capitale. A picture of my rental car was with the ticket.
After reading Rick's Steve's travel books I was aware of Rome's reputation.
I paid the speeding fine and a month later I received a notice of my payment from the Corpo di Polizia.
I wrote the ticket off as part of my vacation.
Yesterday September the 9th, over a year later, I received another ticket notice from the Corpo di Polizia stating that I was driving in an area without authorization. The fine is 88.23 Euros. I never knew that I was driving in this restricted area!
Has anyone ever gone through this? How do I know that some other ticket won't be sent?
Is this some type a scam? I paid the first ticket but I don't know if I should pay this one.
I see that you can protest the ticket as long as it is written in Italian!
If you loose your protest the FINE DOUBLES! This seems like a good scam that the Campo di Polizia is running!
My oldest son is getting married in April 2015 and my wife and I would like to take them to Italy as a wedding gift.
What happens if you don't pay the ticket?
I need some advice. Help!
A LOST SOUL IN THE TICKET TWILIGHT ZONE
Posted by
Tucson
4154 posts
My guess you missed the signs and drove in a dreaded ZTL -- zona traffico limitato, or something similar.
A year seems pretty fast to me. We got a ticket from Basel for speeding almost 2 years after the infraction. The French are much faster. We got those tickets (yes, there was more than one) within 3 months of our return from France.
I'd pay the ticket and be done with it.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
I found this website very helpful when researching speeding and parking tickets in Italy:
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32750 posts
useful yes, but not completely impartial.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Pay the ticket. It's not a scam, you drove through a ZTL without pre-registering. Caveat renter, and pay attention to the well-marked signs next time...
"How do I know that some other ticket won't be sent? "
You don't, particularly if you weren't previously aware of the ZTL rules. Just wait and see what happens.
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3161 posts
Three years back, I went on the ETBD Christmas week in Rome tour. Prior to that, I rented a car in Palermo and toured Sicily (Wonderful!) and drove up to the Amalfi coast and arrived in Rome at 3PM on Christmas Eve. My hotel was near the car return point at Termini and I drove to it with my luggage. I then had to locate an open gas station to tank up. One year after the trip, I received two tickets for entering the same street 12 minutes apart. I debated what to do. At 3PM the streets were deserted, most businesses had closed early, and the signs prohibiting entry were small and almost invisible. I decided to ignore the fines. So far, after a second request, I have heard nothing. I'd return to Rome and have no fear.
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
How do I know that some other ticket won't be sent?
Almost always your credit card is charged by the rental agency for the administrative fee of passing along your contact info to the authorities. That is how most people realize they are going to get a ticket, but it can be months in between the charge and getting the ticket. And you are typically charged a fee for each and every request by the authorities. Check back on your CC statements, I bet you find those charges.
As noted, you most likely violated a ZTL, which is a restricted traffic zone. Easy to do. The right thing to do is pay it.