Driving me Crazy

So now that I won't be doing any more driving and I've got a little time to kill on the train I'll do a post (rant) about driving in Italy.

Anything I heard or read about driving here warned that the roads can be quite narrow and Italian drivers can be aggressive so I had some warning beforehand.

When we first got to Italy and drove all around the Dolomite mountains and then around the coast of Lake Como we experienced just how narrow and winding the roads can be. Coming around a blind corner to a large bus definitely gets your heart going. Doesn't stop motorcycles from passing you around corners though. I actually feel like being on the wrong side of the car was a benefit here because I was able to get very close to the edge when coming up to another vehicle. The buses here must be specially designed because the turning radius they have to make those corners is impressive. It's no wonder all the drivers have a cross or picture of Jesus on the dash, they need all the help they can get.

Italian towns seem to frequently be perched on cliff faces so no matter where you are there will be crazy winding roads. The motorways (autostrada) consist of a lot of bridges and tunnels to speed things up but the tolls and lack of scenery mean they're not a flawless alternative.

Driving on the autostrada means sharing the road with an endless train of large trucks from all over Europe. Despite them having a speed limit often 30km lower than cars if they come up on another truck going 1km/h slower than they are they'll dart over to cut you off and force you to slam on your brakes while they slowly crawl past.

Now the main issue with driving here is the Italian drivers. Words can't properly express what it is like driving with these people. Anyone who knows me knows I am not an example of calm, patient and conscientious driving, so for an entire country of drivers make me look like just that there is a serious problem. No matter how fast over the speed limit I would go (often at least 20 over) someone would come up out of nowhere and ride my ass like I was towing them. I think I spent more time being tailgated than not, and I don't mean tailgated like in Canada, I mean literally almost touching. Seeing this happen to someone else really made it look like the two cars were one.

This is not a small percentage of drivers, nor is it males between 18-30, it's middle aged women and it's little old men. It's the whole fucking country. They are mental. While they are tailgating you, they are swerving left to right waiting for the next opportunity to pull some stunt to get by.

This is where it takes a turn for even more retarded. In Italy the road lines mean nothing, and a 2 lane road always has room for passing regardless of a double solid or narrow shoulder. They will force the passee onto the shoulder as well as oncoming traffic and squeeze right by. It's an absolute spectacle and I thought I was seeing things the first time.

Once you almost get used to the drivers you shift focus to scooters. These nutcases are in every European city, including London, so I had some idea what it was like. They risk their own lives as well as their skirt wearing passenger's every second. They fly by you on both sides. They squeeze through traffic and swarm in front of you at a red light. Especially as a pedestrian you have to look out because they aren't. No matter how narrow the street and how few actually have sidewalks, they will fly by you or pass a car beside you. A North American sense of what is an acceptable safe distance needs to be thrown completely out the window because it doesn't exist here.

As I said driving got us so many places we wouldn't have seen otherwise, and it was an amazing experience in itself, so there's no regrets. Driving here is exhausting though, there's no autopilot, I was always on edge waiting for the next insane event. If I had to judge Italians strictly by how they are behind the wheel, I wouldn't have enough bad things to say how their lack of patience, courtesy or common sense. I must admit that may sound hypocritical as I am an aggressive driver at times, but the difference between aggressive in Canada and normal in Italy is beyond explanation.

Luckily, when they aren't behind the wheel most Italians we've talked to have been quite nice and helpful so I guess you just have to accept that's how things are done on the roads here and embrace it. Or take the train.

-Justin