That proposed ban is stupid. Italians need higher horsepower cars, not lower. So that they won't have problem maintaining 130km/h on the Autostrada on upgrades. And those 80 or 90km/h speed limiter on trucks are ridiculous too, making them huge hazards.

Anyways, I think Italy is quite similar to the US in posting ridiculously low speed limits on the highways, making them totally irrelevant. One very good example in the area we're talking about here is the SS145 viaduct south of Pompei. 2 days ago, driving back towards Pompei, one driver 2 cars ahead of me actually decided to drive the limit of 60km/h on that overpass. Imagine the number of impatient drivers following that tried (some successful, some not) in passing on that road, where passing is prohibited - which I agree as it's actually quite dangerous with just just concrete walls on both sides and no shoulder.

It's clearly a 90km/h roadway, and should be posted as such. Instead, the 60km/h sign makes it so much more dangerous.

---

But back to the topic of Amalfi Drive. In many ways, I think Italians have a bad habit of thinking "that's just the way it is" for many things, and don't care to improve on stuff. Like road signs throughout the country. Or the traffic situation on Amalfi.

Yes, the portion from Sorrento to Positano is fine, but the rest is not. And there are clearly ways to do things. It's my first time to the area, so maybe I'm living in a fantasy, but how about:

- Limiting tour coaches to only one direction. SITA buses excepted. If tour buses want to make the drive, then they can only go counterclockwise (or clockwise - I don't care).

- Use smaller buses for SITA, and just run more frequencies. Shorter buses take less room in turns, which is the main problem; not overall width.

- Traffic lights for the narrowest stretch to make them one-way traffic only.

There are other more drastic ways like taking tolls, etc. But just the three things above will help the traffic flow a lot better. However, I really feel the Italian mentality won't allow any to happen.

That was an interesting link, LoveItaly. I can't believe people don't need a full license to drive a SmartCar (I assume that's what they mean by microcars). By what logic do you need less driving skill for a SmartCar?

Last May, I drove the Amalfi coast from Sorrento to Salerno in order to check off a bucket list item. Unfortunately my driving companion was paranoid with the narrow roads and tight turns. We left about 9am on a weekday on our way to Salerno and found the traffic to be light to moderate most of the way. There was only one occasion where we encountered a bus in a town which allowed about a quarter inch distance between the two vehicles. I came to a stop as I wanted the bus to pass but he needed me to pull ahead. This is where it became humorous as 3 Italians showed up from nowhere to confirm and encourage me that my car did indeed have enough room to pass the bus (all the while having the bus driver yelling "Andiamo"). This proved to be the only real issue I encountered on the drive. I will say there were times so many cars were parked along side the road that the slightest traffic created a situation which demanded my entire attention. Trying to find a place to pull over proved impossible so the drive, while generally not difficult, did indeed demand full attention and proved more tiring than anticipated. As a driver I did not get to see as much of the surrounding area as I would have liked but my passenger may have contributed to the additional intensity of the drive. Overall it is a beautiful drive with tight and narrow roads which can get you squeezed at times but nothing to stop you from making the drive.