One last post: Someone has reached out and asked us about The Autostrade... If you you're coming to the Villa from Rome in the south, or from Milan in the north, you're likely going to be on one of Italy's Autostradas... The Autostrada is a system of toll roads very similar to the many of the "pay for use" Toll roads or Turnpikes here in the US.
You may have heard rumors that there's no speed limits on these large European highways... That was kind of true decades ago, but this is no longer the case... The speed limit on the Autostrada is 130 km/hr (81mph) in most places, but there are sections that are 110 km/hr, so you should always look for speed limit signs. Speed limits also may be lower in curvy sections or areas with road construction. So much like here in the states, where speed limits on our highways are usually around 70mph and everyone's driving 75 to 80... on the Autostrada the speed limit is 130kmh and most people are driving 140 - 145kmh (87 -90 mph). If you're travel any great distance on The Autostrade, you'll undoubtedly come across a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or the like coming up behind you in the left lane at very high speed blinking his lights... ( his blinking headlights basically asking you to get out of. the passing lane) be careful, if you're going to change lanes, be sure you put on your turn signal and give them enough time to understand your intention to change lanes and let them pass... These guys are sometimes driving at 140 mph or more , and if you're in the left lane, they'll sometimes try to pass you in the right lane... (your turn signal is your best defense)
The police can also use handheld speed guns BUT they are not required to give 1 km notice. So, there could be a warning sign and 20 meters later the police measuring your speed.
You may have heard about or seen the signs for the Safety Tutor (aka Sistema Tutor or just Tutor). The Safety Tutor measures your speed between two points on a section of Autostrada, so you can’t avoid a fine just by slamming on your brakes when you see the sign for it. There are over 1400 kilometers of Safety Tutor in Italy, and the introduction of the Tutor has dramatically reduced traffic accidents and fatalities on the Autostrada.
Here’s how the Tutor works:
- When you’re driving on the Autostrada, you’ll get between 250 meters and 4 kilometers notice that a Tutor is coming up.
- You pass under the Tutor Point A and its camera takes a photo of your license plate and sends it to a database.
- You pass under the Tutor Point B (it could be 10-15 kilometers later), and its camera takes a photo of your license plate.
- Your total time on the section from Point A to Point B is totaled and your average speed calculated. You receive a 5% leeway on your speed.
- If you are speeding, you’ll receive a fine. If you’ve rented a car, the car rental agency will receive the fine and pass it along to you (usually with a hefty added administrative fee).
- note: If it’s raining on the Autostrada, the speed limit is reduced by 20 km/hr (for example, from 130 km/hr to 110 km/hr), and the Tutor automatically adjusts to the lower speed.
When you enter the AutoStrada, make sure you go thru a lane with a "biglietto" (ticket) sign above the entrance.. . the ticket should pop out automatically... If the ticket isn’t sticking out of the machine when you drive up, push the red button, and take the ticket that comes out. The barrier will rise once you’ve taken the ticket and you can drive through.
Just like on most limited access turnpikes, choose your on-ramp / direction of travel. This happens quickly! The directions are the next major cities in either direction on that Autostrada (for example Bologna and Roma if you’re entering in Florence), and you need to know which one you want to head towards (Google Maps and GPS will tell you). Merge onto your chosen on-ramp...
Exiting the AutoStrada:
Uscita means Exit
When you exit the AutoStrade, you'll need to pick a lane dependent on how you intend to pay... Do not go thru the "Telepass" Lane. That is like our EZ Pass (and if you brought your EZ Pass, it will not work)... pick a lane showing a drawing of paper bills & coins for cash payment or "Carte" to pay with credit cards... See our video below... This is us going thru Toll Booth and paying with credit card.As you get ready to leave, we wanted to give you guys some idea of what it's like to go thru the toll booths on the Autostradas here in Italy so we recorded a video of us going thru... Looking forward to seeing you guys soon! As always, if you have any problems, give us a call: 610-657-7894 (dial it just like you would at home)
