Oh no! Will I get a speeding ticket from Italy?
 

My husband exceeded the speeding limit in Tuscany while driving on major roads and we belatedly learned there was radar. We were in a rental car. Should we expect one or more tickets and how do people handle this? Basically, the drive was from Buonconvento to Florence.

You might get one. I would pay it because I expect to drive in Italy again. We pay the tickets we get, really whether it's likely we'll revisit that area again or not. But we're old and cautious.

If there was "radar" you should have been stopped. If you were caught speeding on a camera system, you could get a ticket.

YOu probably will if you know you broke the law and were caught. I'm not sure how you can belatedly learn about a radar machine, though, unless you mean you just saw it while speeding past it. Those are set up by the side of the road by the police, they are portable. I don't think that means they will give you a ticket on the spot, with that system, they still can take a photo of your license and mail it to you.

Not necessarily. I am sure we sped on Italian highways that had cameras the last two years, and no ticket has been received.

The better question is how will YOU "handle" it? You say you know your husband broke the law. Your REAL question seems to be "do I really have to pay the ticket if I get one?"

You'll get two charges, one from the hire company for the management of the issue and one from the police. I'd pay, normally there is a website to pay by.

If there are other items you "belatedly learned", such as ZTL in Florence, you will also get those tickets a belated souvenir from your trip to Tuscany.

These tickets have to go theough the rental car company first and it can take many, many months. We wired money this past spring for a ticket feom last fall.

Thanks! I will report back on this post if anything happens.

Various court decisions have made it difficult for towns to collect on speeding tickets in the last several years, so many towns have given up on it. For example, hidden speed traps are no longer allowed. So you might just be lucky.

If you do get a ticket, you usually have no choice but to pay it. The rental car agency will pass along your contact details to the authorities, and they have usually been using collection agencies to collect from those who don't pay voluntarily.

I got a ZTL ticket on my last trip to Italy, but I didn't get any of the many tickets I deserved for driving through edge-of-town camera traps over the speed limit.

bvlenci explains why.

Our town had just installed speed cameras when one of these court decisions was handed down. They never used them.

However, cameras along the highway are more likely to be used. They have a warning sign before you get to them. It has an icon of a policeman, and the words, "Controllo elettronico della velocità", or, "Autovelox".

Bvlenci, yes, those are the signs we saw. I am expecting the worst and hoping for the best.

In Italy you have to distinguish between autostrade and other roads.

On the autostrade there is now installed a very sophisticated system called "Tutore" which, by way of cameras mounted on signs which stretch out over all 2 or 3 lanes, registers every number plate and then again after a certain number of kilometers again registers the number plate. Speeding fines are issued based upon the average speed over the distance between the two measuring points. If you temporarily exceed the limit to overtake or for some other reason there should not be a problem. Measurement is based on average speed. Since this requires huge computing power to register and monitor all passing under the cameras, the whole of the autostrada route network is not controlled all of the time. The system is very very effective as is clear from the speed that most now travel on the autostrada route network. One unfortunate side effect is that, since almost every car can now travel at the allowed maximum speed, too many occupy the middle lane (of a 3 lane autostrada) thus slowing down traffic. Note that on Italian autostrade you cannot overtake on the inside lane.

On other roads the controls are different. As bvlenci says there are warning signs which generally look like -

http://www.italiantourism.com/images...covelocita.jpg

or

http://italychronicles.com/wp-conten...eedcamera1.jpg

Also on such roads the checks can either be undertaken by mobile or fixed units. Fixed units are either -

http://italychronicles.com/wp-conten...oadsidecam.jpg or similar.

or

http://www.hidden-italy.com/Resource...lovelocit.jpeg

The first type is still around but registered images to a disk inside of the device which had to be collected by the traffic cops on a regular basis. This type of device is falling into disuse. But don't count on it not working.

The second more modern device sends infractions directly to the traffic cops.

The other way of controlling is by way of a mobile device such as this - http://www.patentati.it/blog/foto/au...o-velocita.jpg

With such devices you will usually be stopped immediately.

Note that with such devices in operation you will find that Italians flash their lights at you before you arrive at the control point. Take note and slow down. But do NOT start flashing yourself as this is actually a traffic offence.