Penalties for the traffic violations in Italy
If there are no limits indicated on the road signs installed at the road sections, then while driving by a car hired in Italy you should follow the standard speed limits.
If you park in the center of the city, you will be obliged to pay a penalty for the violation of the parking zone working process. The punitive penalties on the situation of you unawareness of the parking features common for this time period. Even a one minute delay may result in a punishment.
If the blood alcohol content level ranges from 0.5 ‰ to 0.8 ‰, the driver will be punished by a penalty of € 527 - 2,108 .
Speed limits
For passenger cars:
- On a motorway - 110 km/h;
- While driving in a built-up area - 50 km/h;
- While driving outside a built-up area - 90 km/h
- On a trunk highway - 130 km/h.
You should remember that the wet weather is supported by the following speed limits: on trunk highways - 110 km/h, on motorways - 90 km/h. If you travel during the winter time, you should take into account that the cars equipped with the snow chains can move with the speed not exceeding 50 km/h. The same limits are provided for the cars equipped with the studded tires.
Parking
You should follow the parking rules in the center of the city rather attentively. A lot of city parking zones have time restrictions. Such restrictive measures differ depending on the different days of the week, time of the day or date (even or odd days of calendar). When parking it is necessary to specify the operation mode in the given period of your trip.
Car rental in Italy – compliance with the parking regulations
Parking zones are marked with different colors, which indicate the parking cost.
There are 3 types of parking zones in Italy:
The blue type means that the payment should be performed with the blue discs (they can be purchased at travel agencies, banks, post offices and tobacco shops, and vending machines);
The white type means a free of charge parking area;
The yellow type means a parking area assigned for the owners of delivery cars and people with disabilities.
Admissible blood alcohol level
While driving a car in Italy, the permissible blood alcohol content level comprises 0.5%. In case of exceeding this limit, you will be punished through a strict system of penalties.
If your driving experience is less than 3 years and you are under the age of 21, then the level of blood alcohol content should equal to 0,00%.
You should attentively follow the blood alcohol content restrictions, as they regulate the physical state of a driver rather tightly.
Traffic regulations
The traffic regulations provide for the obligatory usage of dimmed headlights under the conditions of bad weather, outside of the built-up areas, and while passing through any tunnel. The fog headlights can be used only in case of severe snowfall or rain.
The Italian traffic rules strictly regulate the children’s transportation, talks by cell phones, as well as the safety belts usage and compliance with the rules of being in the restricted traffic areas.
Fuel cost
If you need to fill a booked car in Italy, you should remember that there is no leaded petrol at the fuel filling stations. Italian cars can be served with the lead-free petrol (95 and 98 octane) or with the diesel fuel (Gasolio). It is possible to transport no more than 10 liters of fuel in a canister.
While driving along the Italian trunk motorways, you will also meet gas filling stations (LPG) offering their services.
Toll roads
Starting your journey on a hired car in Italy, you should consider the cost of passage through the motorways. The toll value assigned for the usage of Italian roads is retained depending on the covered distance and car category. Passing through several tunnels may also be fee-based.
It is simple enough to calculate the toll value yourself. For this, the number of kilometers should be multiplied by the rate’s unit. Do not forget to add 20% of VAT to the received sum. The result, which is obtained after some simple mathematical operations, has to be rounded up to 0.10 Euros.
Travel rate along the major trunk highways on a rented car in Italy (EUR)
- Milan - Naples (А1)–754 km - 52.20
- Turin - Trieste (А4) – 530 km - 41.00
- Naples - Salerno(А2) – 52 km – 2.00
- Turin - Aosta(А5) – 163 km – 22.50
- Milan - Genoa (А7) - 140 km - 9.70
- Lainate – Como (А9) – 27 km – 2.80
- Florence - Pisa (А11) - 98 km – 6.90
- Genoa - Rome (А12) - 486 km – 38.10
- Padova - Bologna(А13) - 98 km – 6.50
- Bologna - Taranto (А14) - 732 km – 49.30
- Brennero - Modena (А22) - 321 km – 21.90
- Turin – Bardonecchia (А32) - 92 km – 11.90
If you lease a car in Italy, you should remember that there are road sections with special tolls (different for each section).
Fiat Panda 
Renault Clio 
Ford Focus 
VW Passat 
