Where we are out in the countryside there are no traffic lights and little traffic in fact. I realized this on our first trip into Milan. The biggest holdup is the RR crossing in the lower village that closes regularly - maybe 10 times or so per day?- and is on the route to school. Did I mention the ding ding ding ding of the RR crossing???
The speed limit on the main freeways between cities is 80 and there are people who drive upwards of 100. There are also old Panda's that go about 50. Driving even on straight freeways involves much more action - avoiding the super slow cars and getting out of the way of the speedsters. ( I have been passed by a ford focus wagon going about 110!) Then of course there are the trucks that have a top allowed speed of 50-60 - and some try to pass another - and well the speedsters start flashing lights like maniacs. People have no trouble in following VERY close and or coming up very close behind if they wish to pass.
On the other hand....with the exception of some trucks trying to pass, slow vehicles stick to the right-most lane and indeed cars move smartly to the right to allow others to pass. In other words, those that might hang out in the left lane are not driving in Italy. There are minimum speeds for the left and middle lanes at times ( 55 and 37 respectively)
I like the "fuzzy lanes" both on the freeway and in Milan. I have not driven in Rome perhaps it would too much! On the freeway, one routinely shifts lanes - with or without signals, and some straddle the lanes as they weave. In the city, traffic flows more like a liquid without regard to lanes- are there two or three it is not clear. Perhaps driving in Boston or New York is similar? I cannot remember anymore. The city driving during morning rush was a bit much. The round -abouts are places where the true Italian drivers are separated from the rest of us. Squeezing in here and squirming the car into a little opening is amazing to watch and a little harry to be in the middle of. I just ignored the horn blasts as my French plated minivan made its way through the melee. I must say a breathed easier that morning when I finally hit the A7 ( or A5 or some number like that).
Still you do find it startling when someone drives on the wrong side of the road for a bit in order to avoid a line of cars, and people pass ( aka overtake) very much more and more aggressively. Again maybe West Coast living has influenced my perception of US driving style.
So the minivan - Carlo and the kids are fans. Love the reclining seats and extra space between the boys when we're on roadtrips. I am a 100% true minvan driver. I have hit two things already when backing up - AND i have never is 30 years done anything to a car. This minvan even has an in-dash display and backup warning system!!!! OK OK so things are a bit closer around here. Smaller parking lots and spaces and the minivan is quite huge. But anyway I feel like a middle aged mama...
My fav part of the minvan? When i really get tired of try to understand Italian, I turn on the navigation system and talk to the nice nav lady :-)
chow for now!
JT
Although I've been left coast living for more than a dozen years now, I did pretty long stints in Boston and NYC and was far more timid than you describe. Boston was worse than NY. In New York, you just had to commit. You couldn't sit around asking for an invitation to merge, you had to hold your ground, but once you got the hang of that, it wasn't to bad. Parking was the worst bit.
ReplyDeleteBoston drivers were much more aggressive and the lack of any rational street layout and crazy highway infrastructure (this was before the flow on the Tobin was made less fatal) made "defensive driving" mean something completely different. My fave manuever was drivers making a left turn from a side street onto a main drag having no compunction about pulling out and blocking oncoming traffic until an opening appeared.
After our four hour drive to the yurt a few weekends ago I thought Ed would explode dealing with the slow left lane drivers in Oregon, I'm afraid to see Ed on one of the Italian highways how fast would he go?!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have gone over to the dark side of the mini-van what will you do when you come back? You might have to get a car like ours : )
P