Help a tourist cross the road - pedestrian safety in Rome and Florence
 

The guidebooks have me afraid to cross the street. Surely thousands of people survive doing this every day. But the suggested maneuver of assertively crossing as a speeding car catches up on you sounds somewhat frightening. I'm used to going to the crosswalk, waiting for traffic to stop, and then walking across at a moderate pace. Or going to a light, pressing the button, and waiting for the green light and little white man or WALK sign to appear. It sounds as if decades of practice as a pedestrian in calmer locales will be of little use, however.

So how bad is the pedestrian safety situation? What are some tips?

If you wait for the traffice to stop you might as well bring a lawn chair.

You have to cross the streets in an straight forward manner, keeping your cadence even. The cars and bikes will know to anticipate where you will be when they reach you and they will go around you (or hide behind a nun).

I always look for nuns and priests and cross with them if I can :)

Both Florence and Rome are very busy with lots of pedestrian traffic. I usually follow in the footsteps of an assertive local, preferably a priest or nun, and move quickly.

Following nuns and priests are fine, but stickng close to a hot Italian babe in a tight outfit will also work.

degas isn't joking :). My 1st choice is a beautiful Italian woman, 2nd choice is an Italian mother or grandmother figure.
Regards, Walter

Go in a crosswalk, hold your ground, don't make eye contact (it's a sign of weakness :-) ). You WILL feel the hairs on the back of your neck blow, but that's normal.

I agree with the pretty well unanimous suggestion that you have to be assertive and go for it. If you can do so in the company of a nun or an Italian grandmother, all the better.

And the Italian cars and scooters will avoid you: The last thing they want is to dent their precious vehicles or, God forbid, get involved with the police.

I cross streets there all the time - pushing my little one in a stroller. They wouldn't dare hit a mother and child! Frankly, I think the streets in Florence are not as crowded as those in Rome; yet, ironically, I find I prefer walking in Rome and negotiating the boulevards there. One consolation is that usually there are masses of people crossing at one time so you can go with the group.

Hi Will,

The one thing you must NOT do is stop because you see a car coming at you. It is the surest way to be hit.

Bravo, Ira! That is the wisest advice in this whole thread!

never look uncertain..Once you start crossing do no hesitate and stop..You will confound the driver..Also while you are doing it, especially when you cross Piazza Venezia, say a good prayer..:)

Florence is not at all bad, crossing streets there is a piece of cake. Rome is a tad dicey but most of those above are (at least to some degree) kidding. They do have stop lights and walk signals in Rome and if you cross at crosswalks with the light you generally will not get hit. I really don't think "assertively crossing as a speeding car catches up on you" is such a good idea.

I'll echo all the other advice, but be assertive and confident. Most cars will stop if they see someone in the road, they don't intend to run people over.

This question brought a pleasant memory of my 1st trip to Rome. We were 2 single woman in our 20s and not particularly well-travelled. Our first day there, we were trying to cross in that traffic circle at Piazza Venezia. As suggested already, we decided to get behind people that looked local, and in this case they were 2 young men about our age. They caught us in the act and ended up inviting us to dinner that evening. We hesitated, but decided to meet them in an outdoor public place. As it turned out, they were co-workers, but we found one of them less than desirable. AFter the 1st dinner, the nicer one invited one of his friends instead of the co-worker. Needless to say, we were taken out to dinner every night after they got off from work and they were perfect gentelmen. We offered to treat and they refused. It was one of those special vacation memories that I know I'll never forget, plus we got to eat at places we would never find as a tourist.

Along with Ira's advice not to stop..I would add...NEVER..NEVER ...retreat and turn back.

If you show fear, some drivers will think it sport to really scare you.

PS I grew up jaywalking in Boston.

I just wanted to add teh 20 years later when I was in Rome, with my family (2 kids), we didn't have any problems crossing the street, even at Piazza Venezia. Although, that may have something to do with living in NYC for the past 17 years!

Hi Will,

After you have leared to cross the street in Rome and Florence, visit Naples.

The lights just blink.

Thanks a lot Ira...we are headed to Naples in May

I once witnessed a most amazing sight. We like to sit on a bench for a few minutes (in Paris) and watch the Arc de Tr. traffic circle. We saw a pedestrian step off the curb, evenly and slowly stride across the pavement as cars, trucks, motorcycles, vans all circled, skidded, cut in and out, all around him. No vehicle paused, honked, gestured, or in any way seemed to break stride for him. He arrived at the arch in one piece as if he expected nothing less. I held my breath the entire time.