My first Italian holiday was almost forty years ago. In 1987 I visited Riccione for the first time; then in 1995, 1996 and 2000 I drove to Lake Garda in my own car. In 2000 there was also a trip to Elba. In terms of road traffic, those journeys were, looking back, largely uneventful. Later, on our trips to Pozzuoli, I covered many kilometres across Italy and gained plenty of experience along the way. For two months now we have been living in Pozzuoli near Naples, and I drive here every day. Although I have known Italy for a long time, what I experience in the daily road traffic here is quite another matter compared to what I knew of Italian driving had previously encountered.
Over 30 years of driving experience
I have been driving for over 30 years and have accumulated considerable experience abroad as well. I have travelled by car throughout Europe, France, Poland, the Benelux countries and beyond. Eight times I have visited Israel and explored the entire country by car. Different driving styles and unfamiliar traffic situations are nothing new to me, and I know what I am doing behind the wheel. Driving here holds no fear for me, but it is tiring. In Germany, there are many routes where driving is reasonably relaxed; here in the Napoli and in Pozzuoli, in my experience so far, that is barely possible. One must remain constantly alert and prepared for someone to do something that forces a sudden brake or swerve. This applies even when driving just the one kilometre to the supermarket. A short distance does not mean one can afford to concentrate any less.
Tailgating for a few metres' advantage
Drivers tailgate, push in and overtake at every opportunity. Every tiny gap is used to squeeze through, and time and again one witnesses manoeuvres so alarming that one has to wonder what they are actually meant to achieve. A few metres' advantage? One place further forward at the next set of traffic lights? For that, other drivers are cut off or forced to brake. Much of this strikes one as incredibly impatient and inconsiderate. Whether the drivers in question are aware of the risk they are taking is impossible to say, though watching it unfold, one frequently has serious doubts. Impatience consistently wins out over safe driving here. Even after two months, one does not really get used to this style of driving. It has become easier to anticipate, but that does not make it any more sensible.
Those who wait for a gap may wait a long time
One of the biggest adjustments was understanding how merging typically works here. When joining a queue of traffic , one cannot simply expect someone to make room. It took a long time to grasp the principle by which many drivers operate instead: just pull in, and the other person will brake. And that is precisely what happens. Someone pushes in front and one must brake to avoid a collision. The fact that one is already travelling in one's lane appears to be of no great significance to the other driver: he moves, and one reacts.
Conversely, when merging oneself, one must seize an opportunity decisively. Those who simply wait for someone to generously offer a gap may find themselves waiting a very long time. One cannot afford to be intimidated while driving, but must simultaneously keep a close eye on everything happening around. Of course, drivers who push in somewhere are a familiar sight in Germany too, but what is new here is how entirely routine this behaviour is as part of the daily flow of traffic. To this observer, it is an expression of a self-centredness that strongly colours the overall impression of driving in the Naples and Pozzuoli area: I am moving now. You will brake. But one should not misunderstand: all of this is perfectly normal here. The inconsiderate behaviour is simply part of everyday life, and nobody genuinely gets worked up about being cut off. For drivers who have spent decades on German roads, however, it remains a wholly new experience.
The left-turn lane becomes an overtaking lane
This is easy to observe at traffic lights. There I am in the straight-ahead lane, while someone next to me pulls into the left-turn lane. The moment the lights change, they do not turn left at all, but accelerate and cut in front of me into my lane: the turn lane has served merely as a means of jumping the queue. This happens to me several times a day, and it is considered perfectly normal. Running red lights is another thing one regularly witnesses here. Just today, a scheduled bus drove straight through a red light without hesitation, and, apart from me, it likely went unnoticed by everyone else. When joining the Tangenziale, it is not enough simply to keep an eye on the traffic already on the carriageway and find a suitable gap. It can happen that one is overtaken while still on the acceleration lane. At the same time, one has to judge how to merge safely while accounting for the driver who still wants to squeeze past. Such unnecessary manoeuvres demand additional attention from everyone else, simply because someone absolutely must be one car further ahead.
And then there are the scooters
On top of that, there are the Vespas and other motor scooters. They weave between cars, appear from the side and thread through gaps one would scarcely have thought possible. While keeping an eye on the vehicle ahead and the traffic alongside, one must always reckon with a scooter inserting itself into the mix. Some of these manoeuvres genuinely give the impression that the riders consider themselves immortal. In tight traffic jams in particular, with vehicles to the left, right and directly ahead, it is enough to bring one out in a cold sweat. On a scooter especially, the consequences of a mistake can be severe, yet riders carry on as though everything will surely be fine. This nonchalance towards one's own wellbeing, and at times one's own life, strikes me as disconcerting, not least because other road users are drawn into it whether they wish to be or not. Anyone who squeezes through a tight gap is relying on everyone else to react in time. As mentioned, completely normal here.
Safety is another area where things stand out
From personal observation, a remarkably large number of people here are on the road without a seatbelt. At times it seems as though only one in three or four drivers is buckled up. This is not a verified figure, but simply my impression from daily experience in traffic. The Polizia, incidentally, appears unconcerned by this. With certain cars, one also wonders whether they would be allowed to continue on their way in Germany if stopped by the police. Their actual technical condition cannot be assessed from the outside, but the visible state of some vehicles does give cause for thought. When people then complain about high motor insurance premiums, the driving one witnesses on a daily basis makes the reaction almost involuntary: given the way some people drive here, that is hardly surprising. This is a personal response to what one sees every day. Worth noting, too: it still feels as though roughly every tenth car here is travelling with a Polish number plate, a method that sits in a legal grey area and serves to keep insurance premiums low.
Driving with purpose and thinking ahead for others
It is clear that not everyone here drives this way. These observations are based on daily journeys around Naples and Pozzuoli, but the frequency of risky and inconsiderate manoeuvres stands out far more strongly here than on earlier travels. When an Italian remarks that Germans cannot drive, the thought that comes to mind nowadays is: some people here drive as though they have a death wish.For the sake of a few metres' advantage, risks are taken whose possible consequences seem wholly out of proportion to any time saved.
It is tiring to have to think ahead on behalf of others constantly. From the moment one sets off, one becomes part of this traffic and must navigate its patterns. However cautiously one drives, if someone suddenly cuts in ahead, a reaction is required. After two months, one has a clearer sense of what to expect. The approach now is to drive with purpose and take opportunities and remain alert. It is hardly relaxing driving, even so. At least here in the Naples and Pozzuoli area, driving is, in my view, genuinely not for the faint-hearted or the inexperienced.
