Driving abroad
Driving in Italy: how to avoid the ZTL fine
Your UK licence is enough, and the roads are generally safe. The trap is the ZTL (zona a traffico limitato): historic town centres where cameras fine any car that enters without a permit, often months later via your hire company.
- Very safe roads
- Generally safe
- Take care
- High risk
Florence, Rome, Pisa, Bologna and hundreds of small towns have ZTLs. The sign is a white circle with a red border. Sat navs often route straight through them. If your hotel is inside one, ask it to register your number plate.
Where driving differs
- Historic centres (ZTL)Take care
Camera-enforced. Park outside and walk in.
- Amalfi CoastTake care
Single-track cliff roads, buses and summer number-plate restrictions. Consider the ferry.
- Tuscany and the northVery safe roads
Good roads and tolled autostrade.
- Naples and SicilyTake care
Assertive local driving. Keep calm and keep up.
Italian driving culture
- Expect tailgating on the autostrada. Stay in the right lane and let them pass.
- Speed cameras are common, and fines can reach you at home months later via your hire firm.
- Parking lines matter: blue is paid, white is usually free, yellow is reserved.
- Headlights on outside built-up areas, even in daytime.
Autostrada tolls
Take a ticket as you join and pay when you leave, by card or cash. Avoid the yellow Telepass lanes unless your hire car has a tag. The Amalfi Coast road is narrow and slow, with buses taking the whole width, so many visitors leave the car and use ferries in summer.
Before you go
- Hire firms add an admin fee to every ZTL fine they pass on.
- Emergency number: 112.
Official advice: FCDO road safety advice for Italy
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