Two Adventurers

Driving in Italy

I thought a brief  insight to driving here may be in order after being behind the wheel for 7 days. As you have been able to tell from some of the photos, the roads in the villages are very narrow and as a consequence the cars generally small. However that doesn’t mean slow!!! They all drive as though possessed by the devil but at the same time are generally fairly accurate. By that I mean the give-way rule still applies but you will lose out if you are not positive. They also don’t really want to have a crash. All speed limits are ignored totally. Out in the country on the minor and secondary roads the limit is 70kph which means I’m travelling at 80kph (just to try and look a little brave)  and everyone else at 100kph!!! Double lines are there just for decoration and you are expected to dive off the road if something is coming your way on the wrong side of the road. In towns and cities speed is governed by congestion so you are down to 20kph and having a real duck shove! This all happens on the opposite side of the road to us of course. I’ve had two minor excursions down the left hand side but fortunately there was no traffic at the time and my trusty navigator yelled out the correction required. Also have done the wrong way down a one way street thing  but it worked out ok and was a great shortcut. The bit that really gets you is that no matter where you are you will also find someone right up your backside trying to pass. Bloody hopeless when you are looking for a particular street or accommodation. We shall survive!!!