A Driving Lesson

Driving in Italy for the first time is understandably a big step for many people. Italian driving habits are after all the reason why car insurance is one of the few things that costs more than in the UK.

At the end of the summer I was in a major jam on the autostrada just south of Florence and was amused to watch (very carefully) the driver of the Audi 1.9Tdi to my right reading his daily newspaper; he had it folded out over the steering wheel and didn't even bother to raise his eyes to the car in front when it was his turn to move up the next few metres. Still, I used to know someone who actually drove at normal speed while reading the sports pages!

This all came to mind, by the way, as I drove to the office this morning. As I approached the turning for the Siena-Perugia raccordo I noticed a young woman in a Golf Tdi driving on my rear bumper. She stayed there all the way up the ramp and into the flow of traffic. I speeded up to the permitted 90Km/h..and she stayed with me, maintaining the cigarette paper's thickness between her front and my rear bumper. So, I slowed ..and slowed...and slowed..down to20Km/h and she was still there. We soon passed the Tuoro exit where the limit is raised to 110Km/h and I took advantage of it to shake her off- but she came with me, maintaining the carefully measured distance. This, you realise, is actually not unusual and if I had not turned off at the next exit she would have followed me all the way to Perugia, oblivious of my changing speeds. As she sailed past I glanced down into her car and was able to confirm: cigarette in left hand, mobile 'phone in right. Still, we should be thankful she wasn't brushing her hair with her foot.

Rain is another challenge. I have a suspicion that the Italian driving test doesn't cover driving in the rain. For a country that has such long, warm, dry spells you would think that one of the most important things to know is that after the first rain the roads are slippery. It seems not. Late July there was a downpour -pretty torrential. On my way home, just before Pozzuolo, there are a couple of bends. They are not treacherous but they require wrist action. On the first was an Opel Corsa down the ditch as far as it would go. On the second, a Polo upside down on top of a rubbish bin. I thought it was a pretty good advert for the bin manufacturers and wished I had taken the camera with me.

Anyway, my advice to first time drivers in Italy is this. Wherever you are driving, avoid anyone at the wheel of an Audi 1.9 Tdi (especially the estate version), Golf Tdi, Opel Corsa or VW Polo. If you have a chance take a note of the car when you see an incident to remember. I guarantee it will be one of the four! Whatever you do - don't be bullied.

Steve Emmett 28th Sep 2005

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