Secrets of Driving in Italy

Recently, I got a copy of a book on Italy, written by a local (Calfornia) author. The book is called “Vino & Biscotti, Italy to Sonoma County and Back,” by Joe Pelanconi (PWJ Publishing, Tehama, CA, 2004). Joe devotes a chapter to Italian driving habits, and it is the best writing I have seen on this subject.

Below are a few excerpts from this very entertaining book. Joe lives in Sonoma County, but frequently visits family and friends in Italy, and here he writes about his friend Raffaella, in her early twenties but already a seasoned driver:

“Visiting American friends, Raffaella complained that American drivers were so polite they ran the risk of never getting anywhere, and speculated that Americans drive so slowly, we couldn’t have possibly gone to the moon…Raffaella became almost angry when we suggested that there are no civilized rules of the road in Italy. According to her, Italians are not barbarians behind the wheel, just practical. Some traffic laws are familiar to most Italians; they just choose to ignore them, stoplights and speed limits being the most obvious. More than ignoring laws, Italians relish making fun of them.

“To an outsider, Italians appear to view traffic laws as comical suggestions, but this is not entirely true. More accurately, Italians believe laws are important for you and everyone else; just not me. This is the key to understanding the apparent lack of respect for the legal system…We tried explaining the concept of “right of way.” Raffaella had a hard time comprehending how there was something other than going faster; getting there first or avoiding contact governed the way people should drive. To her, it sounded like a way to slow things down for no apparent reason…By ignoring all laws, Italian drivers condense driving into a simple process. Their aim it to get from one place to another as quickly as possible without hitting anything. If it is easier to get though an intersection driving on the sidewalk, why not? Once you figure that out, you too can drive in Italy.

“Italians have subtle ways of communicating with each other when behind the wheel. Drivers will begin to change lanes or enter an intersection with a quick and tentative move. Instinctively, the other driver will either speed up and cut them off or back off and let them in. This happens with precision speed and is quite efficient. Italian drivers rarely exhibit patience with the faint hearted. If you hesitate and don’t move at all, as many frightened foreigners are prone to do, you become paralyzed and cause ugly gridlock. Italians define an “Italian instant” as the time between when a light turns green and the guy behind you honks his horn.

“You might assume that since Italians disdain following directions, there are few road signs in Italy. On the contrary, there are many. Reading road signs as you fly by on the autostrada is a full time job, leaving little time for a driver to prepare for the unexpected – which of courses is expected. Utilizing typical Italian logic, Raffaella explained the Italians need a lot of road signs because they don’t read them. Italian authorities are aware that their constituents are unlikely to follow written directives that apply to everyone else. Mussolini is said to have stated that “Italians are not impossible to govern; it is just useless.

“Giving directions, unlike following them, is something Italians enjoy and do with vigor. They can be extremely helpful and accommodating, even when they have no idea where it is you want to go. Many city streets change name every few blocks. This, coupled with suggested traffic patterns, makes navigating and map reading elusive skills. One way signs are no guarantee as to which way the vehicles will be coming at you. Once, when we nervously pointed out to our driver that she was headed the wrong way on a one way street, she chuckled that she was only going one way.

“Italians probably don’t regard driving as an adventure and, unlike most Americans, they do not intend to eat or live in their vehicles. They use their vehicles to get from one place to another as quickly as possible. The yelling and middle finger gesturing is just what you do. It is not personal. It is how Italian drivers communicate without having to read road signs or obey signals or laws. If they did anything less, their driving would drive you absolutely crazy.”

It seems to me that Joe has got this subject nailed. I can add a couple of things I noticed from my own driving experiences there. One is the technique of parallel parking in a big city. If, via some miracle, there is actually a space, the approaching Italian driver will simply pull in nose first, leaving the rear end of the car sticking out in traffic. It is too risky to try to stop and back into a space, because someone else will inevitably be there by the time you turn around to look. The other endearing habit is observable on the autostrada. If someone lingers in the left lane, the party behind him will wait until he moves over into the middle lane, and then pass. But then, the party who was delayed will quickly pull back in the middle lane in front of the slowpoke and lightly tap his brakes a few times. I believe that this gesture signifies that the person following has poor driving skills.

Oh, there is one more thing. The restaurants on the autostrada are called Autogrill. Not only is the food fabulous, but each Autogrill sells regional foods and of course wine. When we wanted to bring some wine as a gift when visiting a private Maserati collection outside of Modena, our host suggested that the best place to get regional wine was on the autostrada – naturally. What a country!

Joe’s book:
Vino & Biscotti: Italy to Sonoma County and Back
By Joe Pelanconi
PWJ Publishing
ISBN 0-939221-24-1
194 pages, perfect bound, 2004
$16.00 pp

For a copy of Joe’s book, send an email to: jpelanco@comcast.net. or check out his website http://joepelanconi.tripod.com
Be warned that it may cause you to want to book a trip right away.