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DRIVING

The worst times to drive in Italy over Easter weekend

As some 10.5 million people in the country prepare for an Easter getaway, drivers on Italy's roads can expect heavy traffic over the long weekend.

Published: 28 March 2024 10:04 CET
Updated: 29 March 2024 12:41 CET
Traffic, Italy
Congested traffic is far from a rare occurrence on and around national public holidays in Italy. Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP

Italy’s motorways (or autostrade) rarely see much in the way of heavy traffic on regular weekdays or weekends. But that all changes around national public holidays as hundreds of thousands of people take to the road to reach their chosen holiday destinations. 

That’s why Italy’s State Police (Polizia di Stato) issues traffic warnings ahead of all of Italy’s major holidays, including Easter weekend, and even publishes its own calendar showing when traffic is predicted to be at its worst.

The calendar is colour-coded, with a yellow marker indicating heavy traffic, red indicating heavy traffic with ‘possible critical conditions’, and black indicating ‘critical’ traffic.

As some 10.5 million people in Italy are currently expected to travel for the upcoming vacanze di pasqua, Italian roads are expected to see heavy traffic over the long weekend, though some days (and times) will be worse than others for motorists.

When is traffic most likely?

Good Friday, which is generally when most people in Italy leave for their Easter getaways, is expected to be marked by heavy traffic in the morning, with possible critical conditions in the second half of the day. 

Potentially critical congestion is expected to continue into the morning of Saturday, March 30th, though overall traffic should slightly improve in the afternoon.

Easter weekend traffic forecasts in Italy, Easter 2024

Official road traffic forecasts for the Easter weekend from Italy’s Polizia di Stato

As in previous years, Easter Sunday should be a better day for drivers as most Italians tend to focus on their family lunches rather than travelling on the day. Some roads, however, may still see intense traffic in the morning.

Unsurprisingly, the whole of Easter Monday (or pasquetta in Italian) is expected to be marked by heavy traffic, with possibly critical conditions in the afternoon and evening.

Many Italians will take a trip out of town (the so-called gita fuori porta) on the day, which is likely to result in intense traffic on many routes, especially roads connecting big cities to popular seaside or countryside locations.

On top of that, pasquetta officially closes the Easter holidays, which means that many of those who spent the long weekend away from home will likely be making the journey back on Monday afternoon or evening. 

READ ALSO: How to pay Italian traffic fines from abroad

Heavy traffic is expected to persist in the morning of Tuesday, April 2nd, with the situation forecast to worsen in the afternoon.

Travel on Italian roads should only return to normal conditions on Wednesday.

Which roads are most likely to see heavy traffic?

Motorways connecting the north of the country to the south are the most likely to experience heavy traffic over the Easter holidays as many Italians will return to their hometowns to spend time with family and friends.

Motorway A1, which connects Milan to Naples, and Motorway A14, connecting Bologna to Taranto, are both likely to see traffic jams over the long weekend, especially on Good Friday and Easter Monday. 

But drivers may also come across heavy traffic on the following routes:

  • A4 Turin – Trieste
  • A6 Turin – Savona
  • A7 Milan – Genoa
  • A10 Genoa – Ventimiglia
  • A12 Genoa – Rosignano
  • A22 Brenner Pass – Modena
  • A24 Rome – Teramo

Major state roads (or strade statali in Italian) connecting big cities to popular coastal or countryside locations may also be affected by heavy traffic, especially on Easter Monday.

Useful information for travellers

If you’re planning on travelling this weekend, there are a number of resources that you can use to keep up to date with the latest developments on the road.

This online map from Italy’s motorway construction and maintenance company ANAS features live updates on road closures, maintenance work, traffic levels and even weather conditions. The service is also available through their mobile app, ‘VAI’.

READ ALSO: What is Italy’s Telepass and how do you use it?

Motorway company Autostrade per l’Italia offers a similar live map (also available in English), showing road closures and traffic jams as well as the locations of the nearest petrol stations and service areas. 

Finally, if you’d like to speak directly with an operator while you’re on the road, you can do so by either contacting ANAS’s customer service at 800 841 148 or calling the Transport Ministry’s info centre (CCISS) at 1518. 

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For members

DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:28 CEST
EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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