Italian traffic

[JRH]

Just returned from Sorrento and the number of these things getting in the way is unbelievable. 

The price of fuel seems mire expensive than here though the petrol is dearer than diesel!

All the roads are full of mad scooter riders overtaking on blind bends, but seem to survived. 

Didn't see many proper bikes and of those about wear mainly Honda, Yamaha, triumph and Kawasaki. Only saw 1 Ducati and no Guzzi. 

[Simon Davey]

Diesel is cheaper to produce, it's just our government that make it more expensive to buy (tax & duty), in an effort to be "greener".

[Steve_M]

We had a jaunt around the Dolomites last year, arriving from the Stelvio Pass. The Stelvio was full of locals riding like nobs, and a few tourists on bikes, the Dolomites were mostly tourists. Very few scooters so it may be that, as they’re more suited to an urban environment, we saw few, and no apes (the three wheeler things).

 

We found Italy more expensive than Switzerland. Perhaps due to some event/local holiday (?).

[curlylegend]

I crossed the border from Austria to Italy and within minutes notice the completely different driving style. Roads are regarded as race tracks in Italy, I saw pavements being used to overtake !

[Gerontious]

I was assured one day talking to some Italians who took great delight in practicing their English that Ducatis are 'girls bikes' and who am I to argue?

not all scooter riders survive. I passed 2 fatalities on the SS54 at Cividale del Friuli one year and there had been no attempt to clean up the blood or properly cover the bodies. a lot of people milling about and studiously ignoring said bodies. it was rather disconcerting.

Ive never been bothered much by the standard of riding or driving in Italy. one year I ended up - quite by accident in central Rome at rush hour.. and survived. after that lovely experience anything else is a bit meh. In fact by far the worst driving was in the mountains and its always foreign tourists too busy oohing and aahing at the views to bother much about anything else - including what side of the road they were on - or should be on, its notable perhaps that the only accident Ive ever seen that involved someone I was with was when Snod Blatter got caught by a Yank.. who again didn't really know how to drive a car.

Ive seen it said so many times that the Italians ride like madmen in the mountains.. my guess is that a lot of them are locals, or reasonably local and know these roads really well. after all the mountains are literally on the doorstep of Milan and Turin. just down the road...

Its just another reason not to go during the holiday season and take advantage of the weekends (when the hordes descend) to have a day off the bikes... especially on a Sunday. they all disappear come Monday morning. Bless em.

[bonio]

I once drove a car through Palermo. The cars were like cattle being driven in for milking, using whatever space on the tarmac or the pavement they could find. I got through by imagining where the next space was about to open up in front of me and aiming for it. 

At one point I lost my nerve and hesitated. I don't think I stopped, just slowed down a bit, but whatever, I unwisely let a 10 foot gap open up in front of me and immediately the people around me were using it to change lanes and do u turns, and I had to wait for a split second moment when the gap reappeared and I could close it up. Three feet gap max after that.

Edited October 10, 2024 by bonio

[AstronautNinja]

5 hours ago, bonio said:

I once drove a car through Palermo. The cars were like cattle being driven in for milking, using whatever space on the tarmac or the pavement they could find. I got through by imagining where the next space was about to open up in front of me and aiming for it. 

At one point I lost my nerve and hesitated. I don't think I stopped, just slowed down a bit, but whatever, I unwisely let a 10 foot gap open up in front of me and immediately the people around me were using it to change lanes and do u turns, and I had to wait for a split second moment when the gap reappeared and I could close it up. Three feet gap max after that.

Sounds like it might be a laugh if riding a 125 you don't mind scuffing up slightly in the chaos

[JRH]

10 hours ago, AstronautNinja said:

Sounds like it might be a laugh if riding a 125 you don't mind scuffing up slightly in the chaos

Most of the step throughs were 125. Again most had scraps and bumps. Mind you so did most of the cars.

[RideWithStyles]

Three feet gap? they’d Fit a tank in that lol.

 

typical Italian fashion parking is purely till it wont move anymore in the direction your going (bumping/pushing into), thats why for a long time ago they never bothered with a handbrake….you just pushed everything along till the car did fit lol.
bikes went on the paths and corners,  all this saved bothering someone while they looked good having coffee and cake.

.

[manxie49]

I drove a car around Sicily a few years ago ..... Never again!  It was mental, and thats putting it mildly.  The scooter Jock's were unbelievable, if there wasn't enough room on the road for them to get past, it wasn't unusual to see them mount the footpath.  It really is amazing that there aren't more accidents.  Always makes me laugh when I see people here complaining about driving standards, which in in fairness aren't always the best, but compared to some other countries this place is a dream to ride around.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Ah....that explains something about my CBF. Turns out Honda built them in Italy. So the way it gets ridden is genetic. 

[RideWithStyles]

Yeah funny. At my work place was a nice and placid Scottish sales guy (rare I know) lightly/softly spoken otherwise Italians can’t understand.
Been all round the world loads but Italy was definitely one that brought out the sweats and sqweeky voice (amusing as fook) particularly some of the female Italian agents driving. Yes very pretty and well mannered but holy moly….

Edited October 14, 2024 by RideWithStyles