How to Avoid Fines while Staying in Italy
217 viewsIf you are coming to Italy this summer, and have booked into a hotel in the central area of an Italian city, such as Florence or Pisa, and you are coming by car, either your own or a hire car, then watch out!
As is evidenced by all the 200 odd comments on my Speeding and other Traffic Fines in Italy post, it is easy to fall foul of the, by now, infamous Zona Traffico Limitato, ZTL or Restricted Traffic Zones which exist in many Italian cities. The net result is often a registered/recorded delivery letter announcing a fine, which is often difficult to contest and to settle.
Advise Your Hotel
Well, in order to avoid this awkward, but seemingly common, little problem, what you need to do is to advise the hotel where you are staying that you have come by car, provide the staff with the car licence plate/registration number and ask them, politely, to inform the local traffic police of your stay.
Insisting on having a copy of documentary proof which shows that the hotel has indeed told the police about your car would not be a bad idea either.
Technically, Italian hotels are obliged to tell the police about your car, and Italian local traffic laws often make provisions which allow registered vehicles to be exempted from the payment of fines relating to entry into these honey trap limited traffic zones. This means that when (not ‘if’!) your car is photographed by the street cameras while in a ZTL, it will be seen to be on the right list, and you will not be sent, a year or so later, a fine.
Note that Italy’s traffic cops can apparently issue a fine without stopping you. All they have to do is see your car in the wrong area.
Many foreign hotel guests do not know about these nasty ZTLs and thus do not tell the hotels about their cars. Now you know, so you should not make the same mistake.
If you have requested that your hotel notify the local traffic authorities of the existence of your car, and you still receive a fine, you can then write back, in English, enclosing a copy of the document your hotel should have provided you with, and point out that your vehicle had been registered with the police in the area.
Invalids Can Annul Fines
You may also like to note that if one of your travelling companions has a registered disability, then this too can be grounds for annulling these pesky fines.
Use the Local Tourist Information Office
If you want to be doubly sure, then pop into a local tourist information office and ask about this. You should find someone who speaks English. ‘Multa’ in Italian = Fine.
Hope that helps, and you stop being fined and I stop receiving so many comments, as a result!
More articles on similar subjects:
Email This Post
Comments
2 Responses to “How to Avoid Fines while Staying in Italy”
Have your say
News From Ansa- Stocks seesaw amid confidence drive October 7, 2008Bush calls for G8, IMF says $1.4 trn lost but more to come
- Armani 'only uses rabbits' October 7, 2008Designer blasts critics, has not broken fur promise
- Italy fingers Libya on immigration October 7, 2008Tripoli failing to keep its end of bilateral deal
- Premier reaffirms pink quota stance October 7, 2008Berlusconi against compulsory inclusion of women in politics
- Soccer: Santacroce pick anti-racist October 7, 2008Selection of Napoli defender 'could send message' says Lippi
- EcoFin adopts anti-crisis measures October 7, 2008Tremonti says common bail-out fund remains 'Plan B'
- Fencing: Baldini, 'no plot' October 7, 2008CONI drops case into alleged sample-tampering
- Share prices see-saw in Milan October 7, 2008EcoFin meets to hammer out common crisis strategy
- Stocks seesaw amid confidence drive October 7, 2008
- Beppe Grillo
[...] AlexR Did a great write-up today on http://www.blogfromitaly.comThe first paragraph…. [...]
Alex thank you so much for setting up this site. I have written to the Pisa tourist board suggesting they cancel outstanding fines (on behalf of the many comments made) are these available or have you had overload? salute michael