I find it astounding that so many people here are so self-righteous about ‘if you do the crime, you pay the fine’. I know about ZTLs are in Italy, I know what the signs look like and have a general idea of where you will find them. Here’s the thing about them that I find disturbing. You don’t get a notice that the next cross street is the beginning of a ZTL. Once you are committed to making a turn it is often completely not safe to try to abort it when you see the ZTL sign.

This happened to me in an area that thankfully either didn’t have the cameras or they were out of order. In any event I turned onto a one way street and had no choice but to continue through the area and get out at the first opportunity. I was lucky that I did not receive a ticket; many people are not. The idea that these revenue raising ordinances are ‘crimes’ that must be atoned for is absurd; how can those of you who feel this way support them? These ‘offenses’ are not like speeding or running a red light that can reasonably be considered as voluntary. While I love Italy and the Italian people generally, it has been my experience that government bureaucracy in Italy is as annoying as anywhere else in the world.

Danandandrea weren’t trying to avoid the fine, they were only trying to be certain that they were not the victims of a scam. A little more understanding and a little less sanctimony might be in order here.

It's nothing about raising revenue (urban legend) - it's about the very necessary task of keeping traffic out of urban centers that are absolutely not equipped for it.

I presume the car rental business was in place before the ZTL so there they didn't choose to put their business in that spot.

The only self righteousness here is from the people who think they are above the law when traveling abroad...

I agree that the OP just wanted to know if the fine was a scam or not, I don't have a problem with that. I had a problem with subsequent folks who think they should be exempt because they are tourists. Now I agree if you have nowhere to turn when you hit a ZTL, that doesn't seem right, however, there is a sense of entitlement here to folks who don't know anything about a foreign country or bother to learn the language and want the privilege of renting a car there, for their own vacation enjoyment, and then think it is okay to violate traffic laws. Driving in restricted areas is NOT a victimless crime, it is a violation just as serious as speeding, etc., in that it certainly does impact both people and places. We have restricted areas where I live to control the traffic (in the US). Cars without residential stickers aren't allowed on certain streets or to turn onto them at certain times of day. This was not to gain revenue, it was to protect the neighborhood in various ways (not just physical damage to the streets, but it affecting the residential life). If every tourist who wanted to drive through a historic area did it, it certainly would have a negative effect on the are and cause damage. Damage is accumulative, thousands of cars driving through an area can damage it.

They have plenty of areas like that in France, also, to help protect some of these older villages.

We got 2 very delayed (and very expensive) speeding tickets forwarded to us from our rental car company from our trip this summer (one Austria, one Switzlerand). Apparently there they do not have to pull you over to give tickets, I think they photographed and got the speed of the car on radar. We wired the funds to the banks of the municpalities and paid $30 information fee for each to the rental car agency. We did not question the tickets since we believe at the times they noted we were going pretty fast (but wondered why we saw so few police cars-- now we know). We won't make that mistake again!

Funny that this popped up. I just got one from last May. 108 euro down the drain.

Just wondering what the consequences are for not paying these tickets? Anyone know?

In Norway they have cameras on the highways to record speeders, and you get the ticket in the mail later.

The ZTL in the Centro Storico in Florence and elsewhere makes perfect sense to me. The congestion, the damage to the ancient city from exhaust and traffic, etc. is bad enough, and would would be frightful otherwise. And if if seems a lot of money, remember that Italy is drowning in tourists, and it costs zillions of euros to police, maintain, and protect the ancient sites.

Italy's antiquities are its greatest glory, and also its greatest burden. I say pay your tickets as part of your contriibution to preservation. Don't drive into the city centers to start with. (Pick up you car outside the city)

It is mostly tourists/travellers who protest about the ZTL systems in cities – I guess because this is a travel forum. The same thing applies to speed camera protests, where there have been some amazing threads. Comments like “If they want the tourist dollar, they should be more lenient” are common.

You have to remember that tourists make up only a small part of the traffic that would otherwise choke these cities. Locals get fined as well if the transgress the ZTL areas.

I think there is no excuse for not paying a legit ticket if you did violate the law (correct car & correct place). We can comment about how expensive and inefficient their system is but we can't do much about it; their city, their rules. But my beef is 1) the rental agency charges too much for data transmission ($50 USD) and 2) the ticket cost is already doubled by the time it reaches you. I don't mind paying the original ticket cost but not double or triple. They just need to get the ticket to me soon enough.
I called the rental agency when I got an admin charge from them. They can't do much because they don't have the ticket nor the user name/password for me to log onto EMO to pay or investigate. Now (after 2 yrs!!)I got a letter from EMO NIVI that the fine has been doubled and will take legal action if I don't pay on this LAST REMINDER. What can I do? I will pay once I clarify with them why so late and verify the license plate which can be a challenge since it has been 2 yrs.
For people who want to ignore it, I am not sure what are the legal risks if any(like bad credit history, can't enter Italy, on no-fly list with TSA, etc). It would be nice for people to share such experience so everyone who has a ticket will make a more informed decision of paying or not and willing to take any risk.

btt

Can anyone provide a link for the ZTL zone in Rome?

The best way to avoid a fine? Park outside the town/city center and WALK. You'll see more of the city/town and avoid any penalties you might incur due to overlooking signage.

On our travels we have spent many suspenseful moments consulting guide books to determine the meaning of traffic signs.

And, I'm aghast that traffic fines would result in someone refusing to visit. Keep your perspective.

Rome ZTL

http://www.romealive.com/romes_ztl_l...traffic_z.html

Thanks - I'll study up before I go!

I'm still waiting to hear about 'comparable' fines in other countries. I don't consider speeding tickets the same as tickets for entering a ZTL. Let's not debate that point (I already know that Christina doesn't agree), but let's hear from visitors to countries other than Italy who have received fines for entering restricted areas. How much did the rental car company charge you for providing the information to the police, how much was the fine itself, and how long after the incident occurred did you receive the fine notice? People say there are similar zones in other European countries, and I'm sure that's true. Let's hear what your experience with these zones in other countries has been. I'll wager there will be a big difference -- if you get a fine at all, I'll bet the rental car company fee will be less (I believe this is influenced by the culture of the country), the fine itself will be less, and you'll receive the notice within a timeframe where there is a possibility that you will have some recollection of the circumstances and can formulate a defense. If I'm wrong, I'll join Enrique Iglesias when he waterskis naked in Miami.

Just received a notice from europecar that they charged me 30 euro to fill out an electronic form with my info. Request was for speeding ticket in Florence. Trip was in the end of May.

More updates as I get them.

Its not a scam .I've had two myself one for $125.00 Another for $250.00
And they were for the same reason.
I have never gotten a ticket in any other country i have driven in .So i just add the ticket price to my expences.I just figure another $300.00 into my travel planes for tickets and if i don't get one thats a plus.

DickPatterson: Even though your post is almost 2 months old, I have to say, get a grip. If you don't like what Italy does, don't drive there. Take public transportation or accept that Italy is Italy and that's all there is to it. They aren't going to change.

I don't think any tourists visit other countries to ignore their laws. If the Italian government wants to protect their ancient cities then why don't they publicize the fact that they don't want you driving in the town centers. If you type in "limited traffic zones" on this website you get no hits. Once you've gotten the ticket you can find info on the ZTL's Dateline or 60 minutes should do a story on this and save tourists a lot of money and make the Italian government happy?

Amazed at the number of people who think that their American right to ignore other country's traffic laws as been violated. You have an obligation to know and understand the rules, signage, etc. associated with driving in another country. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. It is not the responsibility of Dateline or 60 Minutes unless you are the type who only gets their information from TV. Spent ten minutes on an travel site and there will be discussion of TLZs.