Legal tips for driving in Italy

Driving in another country can be more difficult than driving at home for the simple reasons such as different laws and the less easily identified differing driving cultures. Hopefully this guide will ease your concerns before your trip to Italy and aid in making it a memorable trip.

Legal tips for driving in Italy:
You must carry your driving license with you at all times. If the license doesn’t use the Latin alphabet, then you will need an International Driving Permit in English. If your driving license doesn’t have a photo of you then you should probably carry your passport with you for supplemental ID purposes.

If you are driving your own car then it is a good idea to have the vehicle registration document and certificate of motor insurance with you. If you are driving a car rental then the rental agreement should suffice.

You will have to wear your seatbelt at all times, as will all your passengers, front and back. All children will have to wear seat belts even in the back seats. Children under the age of 12 cannot travel in the front passenger seat unless they use a special child restraint. Children under the age of 4 cannot travel unless they use a special child restraint.

Drink driving is taken very seriously in Italy, and the limit is 0.5 and drunk driving can incur heavy fines or even prison sentences. As tempting as it may be especially when driving through the Chianti region, it is best simply not to do it.

If you are driving into a city you may see a sign designating the area ahead as Zona a traffico limitato (ZTL). This is a limited traffic area that only emergency vehicles and pre-registered vehicles may enter. Anyone entering without pre-registering your plates will be photographed and a bill sent to its owner. If it’s a car rental then the rental agents will put the bill on your credit card. If you are staying in a hotel within the zone, you will have to have your hotel ring the city authority and register your license plates so when you are photographed they will know you are meant to be there.

Most of these are common sense but it pays to keep them in mind. If you want to explore your other holiday in Italy options why not have a look through our car rental Italy blogs? To get your car rental quotes take a look at our car rental Italy page.

If you still have some unanswered questions please ask us and we will do our best to answer them?

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