Roads & Driving in Sicily

[Rob590]

Just returned from a holiday to Sicily where we rented a car for a week. I'd heard a lot of warnings about the driving and signage in advance. While both were different from the UK, neither were quite as bad as I expected! We stayed fairly centrally in Siracusa which is the fourth biggest city, though much smaller than the three biggest cities (Palermo, Catania, Messina), so maybe the driving is more stressful in those. A few road and driving related thoughts:

[*] Driving is certainly different. Drivers don't really care for trivia such as lane markings, indicating or right of way, though to be fair these are often poorly signed or marked out. However it was rarely aggressive: you stick your nose into a space, and if no-one else fills it, you then take that space, regardless of right of way. But if someone else fills it, then you let them have it (and make sure that you're next in line!). I saw very little evidence of road rage or of people really forcing others out of the way. It looks chaotic: at one time I was able to see in front of me, on a notionally 2 lane side of an S2+1, three cars abreast, followed by one, followed by two, followed by three. However, once you were used to it, it was much easier than having to worry about indicating and road positioning too much!
[*] Direction signs were fairly good, though off the motorways rarely was much info given before you got to the junction - in the absence of any lane discipline, however, this was not as much of an issue as it would have been in the UK. Other signage was poor and often absent
[*] Google Maps can't really cope with the one-way systems and narrow roads. I quickly learned to ignore it if I felt that it was sending me down a narrow side-street or if it contradicted signed directions. It certainly hasn't developed the capacity on Sicily to differentiate between minor roads and goat tracks!
[*] Road maintenance was shockingly bad. On the A18 autostrada (admittedly on a toll-free stretch) there were regular potholes, and on smaller routes often long stretches with minimal road markings. This was a particularly baffling example of a road bridge over the D2 SS114 (which is an A-road quality gap in the A18 autostrada).
[*] Speed limits are weird and were rarely followed. The habit of introducing an 80kmph limit (equivalent of 50mph) either side of grade separated junctions on the mainline is notably odd, and these were universally ignored. Limit reductions around hazards often ended without a notification of a return to the full speed limit, though others continued for miles on end - again, with little attention paid to them.
[*] Edited - oh and parking! It was nice not to have to worry about things such as being in marked bay, being a reasonable distance from the pavement, and so forth. At least, the locals clearly didn't, taking much more of an 'abandon your car' approach to parking.

Overall an easier experience than I anticipated - the driving was better, as was direction signage, though other signs and the roads probably worse.

[Chris5156]

Limit reductions around hazards often ended without a notification of a return to the full speed limit, though others continued for miles on end - again, with little attention paid to them.

In many European countries, Italy included, a speed limit sign mounted on the same pole as a hazard warning sign is a limit that only applies to that hazard. So, a "50" sign mounted below a "bend" warning sign means the limit if 50km/h around that bend. The return to a higher limit is implied and not signed.

Other countries are, in general, much more relaxed about the sort of very rigid and clearly-defined boundaries between speed limits that we tend to insist on.

[Owain]

Just returned from a holiday to Sicily where we rented a car for a week. I'd heard a lot of warnings about the driving and signage in advance. While both were different from the UK, neither were quite as bad as I expected! We stayed fairly centrally in Siracusa which is the fourth biggest city, though much smaller than the three biggest cities (Palermo, Catania, Messina), so maybe the driving is more stressful in those.

That sounds wonderful!

I've visited all but three or Italy's twenty regions, and Sicily is one of the few to which I've never been. It is close to the top of my "Must Go" list.

[*] Driving is certainly different. Drivers don't really care for trivia such as lane markings, indicating or right of way, though to be fair these are often poorly signed or marked out. However it was rarely aggressive: you stick your nose into a space, and if no-one else fills it, you then take that space, regardless of right of way. But if someone else fills it, then you let them have it (and make sure that you're next in line!). I saw very little evidence of road rage or of people really forcing others out of the way. It looks chaotic...

It is because it looks chaotic that British visitors tend to think that it's scary, and many make the mistake of thinking that Italian drivers are aggressive. I have (quite literally) driven the length (Mont Blanc to Santa Maria di Leuca) and breadth (Trieste to Ventimiglia) of Italy, and I have never seen anything remotely similar to the aggression, or the deliberately dangerous/reckless driving that can be seen every day on UK roads.

The best way to think of it is that Italians drive like the way people walk down a street or push a trolley round a supermarket. Whether in the UK or in Italy, few people follow rules when walking or pushing a supermarket trolley, but they rarely bump into each other! There is a lot more order to the chaos than it appears at first glance.

Moreover, if somebody cuts up another driver or forces them to brake suddenly, there might be a toot or hand gesture but the incident is immediately forgotten. The British tend to be extremely uptight about things like lane discipline, what they perceive as 'queue-jumping', and overtaking (we've all encountered people who think that they must be in front, irrespective of how fast they are driving!). In the UK I've witnessed rows in which the offended driver 'must get the other back', and the blocking, brake testing, flashing and gesticulating can go on for miles. As a nation, the British are quite angry and miserable, and I think this is where our aggressive driving comes from. In general, the Italians seem to be far more happy and relaxed, and I think this is why they tend to just 'let it go' when driving.

[*]Direction signs were fairly good, though off the motorways rarely was much info given before you got to the junction - in the absence of any lane discipline, however, this was not as much of an issue as it would have been in the UK. Other signage was poor and often absent...

The directional signposting can some time to get used to! I've been in the middle of Sardinia and arrived a road saying "Cagliari" one way and "Sassari" the other. That's great if you know which road it is, and at which point you are joining it. It is useless if you don't (and very often, I don't!).

[*] Google Maps can't really cope with the one-way systems and narrow roads. I quickly learned to ignore it if I felt that it was sending me down a narrow side-street or if it contradicted signed directions. It certainly hasn't developed the capacity on Sicily to differentiate between minor roads and goat tracks!

Neither can satnav. Personally, I think satnav is rubbish anyway, but in Italy it can be unusuable! In Genova there is an elevated section of the SS1 that run above a local access road. The satnav I tried using then kept telling me to turn right, when I was driving in the sky and there was nowhere to turn off; it appeared to think that I was on the local access road below, and had regular opportunities to turn! Best advice: dump the satnav, and use Google Maps for the sole purpose of pinpointing your location, and do the navigation yourself.

[*] Road maintenance was shockingly bad. On the A18 autostrada (admittedly on a toll-free stretch) there were regular potholes, and on smaller routes often long stretches with minimal road markings. This was a particularly baffling example of a road bridge over the D2 SS114 (which is an A-road quality gap in the A18 autostrada).

I lost a piece of my car on the SS3bis in Umbria. It was a kind of plastic box that I'm guessing was intended to direct airflow around the fuel tank under the car. It came loose after a very bumping ride, so I pulled it off and chucked it away.

I also put a really nasty series of scrapes along the bottom of a brand-new Lancia Ypsilon hire car after disappearing down a drainage ditch across a T-junction in Sardinia. The ditch ran parallel with the (notional invisible) Give Way line, and I just thought it was a line of slabs rather than an actual ditch. I felt bad for the car, but when you hire from Hertz or Europcar they don't care about stuff like that ... least of all in Italy!

Limit reductions around hazards often ended without a notification of a return to the full speed limit, though others continued for miles on end - again, with little attention paid to them.

In many European countries, Italy included, a speed limit sign mounted on the same pole as a hazard warning sign is a limit that only applies to that hazard. So, a "50" sign mounted below a "bend" warning sign means the limit if 50km/h around that bend. The return to a higher limit is implied and not signed.

Other countries are, in general, much more relaxed about the sort of very rigid and clearly-defined boundaries between speed limits that we tend to insist on.

While speed limits tend to be used as 'warnings' for hazards such as bends or interchanges, I've found that the limit is actually in force until you are told otherwise. The often seem ridiculously low (e.g. 50 or 70km/h) for long stretches of open road. My understanding is that this is the legal speed limit until you are told otherwise, although the police take an extremely relaxed approach to policing such limits.

You will usually find that at the start of the lower limit, there is usually a little white rectangular sign with an upwards-pointing arrow on it under the roundel; this tells you the limit starts at that sign. If the next speed limit roundel serves as a reminder, there will be a similar rectangular sign below the roundel with both upwards-pointing and downwards-pointing arrows that tell you that the limit still applies (and that you were already in it when you reached the sign). At the end of that limit, the rectangular add-on below the roundel will have a downwards-facing arrow on it, only. Here is an example; in this case, the 'arrow sign' is a reminder, and applies to the 'no overtaking' as well as to the 'warning' speed limit.

In my experience, the end of the 'warning limit' is only unsigned when it applies to temporary roadworks, or where the road has a hole in it or has partially collapsed and nobody from the council can be bothered to fix it for years, so they just stick a sign there to warn drivers about it.

[Rob590]

The best way to think of it is that Italians drive like the way people walk down a street or push a trolley round a supermarket. Whether in the UK or in Italy, few people follow rules when walking or pushing a supermarket trolley, but they rarely bump into each other! There is a lot more order to the chaos than it appears at first glance.

The walking down the street analogy was exactly the one that my wife used. Took a bit of getting used to but yes, much more ordered than it looks.

[Owain]

The best way to think of it is that Italians drive like the way people walk down a street or push a trolley round a supermarket. Whether in the UK or in Italy, few people follow rules when walking or pushing a supermarket trolley, but they rarely bump into each other! There is a lot more order to the chaos than it appears at first glance.

The walking down the street analogy was exactly the one that my wife used. Took a bit of getting used to but yes, much more ordered than it looks.

The other thing, is that if you make eye contact with a driver trying to push their way out of a side road in front of you, you have lost! This was an observation that my ex-wife (who is Italian) made when we were somewhere south of Rome.

I responded by approaching junctions where I had the right of way with my eyes fixed firmly on the road in front of me. Immediately, I noticed that this made a big difference, and the cars trying to force their way out would wait until I had passed.

[bothar]

As noted, in Italy if you don't díther then things are usually OK. Of course tourists often face navigation issues and data errors in Satnav/Google maps do not help being decisive.

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[Truvelo]

The best way to think of it is that Italians drive like the way people walk down a street or push a trolley round a supermarket. Whether in the UK or in Italy, few people follow rules when walking or pushing a supermarket trolley, but they rarely bump into each other!

Really? When I drove in the south of Italy there were a hell of a lot of cars with smashed panels and holes in the front end where the headlights should be. This is not fun at night when a car can be approaching with a single sidelight on and nothing else.

[danfw194]

The first, and only time, I've been to Sicily was in 2008. Absolutely loved it. Certain areas do genuinely have that godfather feeling in the air. I love Italy full stop, but out of the limited places I've been, Sicily tops them. I definitely need to go back and explore more of the island, as all we really visited was a bit of the east coast between Catania and Messina.

Didn't drive over there, took buses wherever we went. The SP92 upto Etna in a standard coach wasn't the most fun ride (very well driven to be fair), but in a car I can imagine it's great fun, just like any other typical mountain road with shoestring hairpins and great views.

Etna is a must visit. From memory, you take a cable car from the car park halfway to the summit, then you get on a minibus which takes you to the summit. Whether that's changed in 10 years, cannot be sure. And at the summit, you can feel the heat beneath your feet, so wear footwear with a fairly substantial sole, not flip-flops!

[Al__S]

The best way to think of it is that Italians drive like the way people walk down a street or push a trolley round a supermarket. Whether in the UK or in Italy, few people follow rules when walking or pushing a supermarket trolley, but they rarely bump into each other!

Really? When I drove in the south of Italy there were a hell of a lot of cars with smashed panels and holes in the front end where the headlights should be. This is not fun at night when a car can be approaching with a single sidelight on and nothing else.

and I reckon I have someone bump into me either bodily or with a trolley every time in a supermarket- it's simply the low mass/low speed that means this is sort of OK