Attention Driver! Italy revises road traffic law: 124 new violations to be punished
On October 14th, it was reported that Italy's new Road Traffic Law, led by Infrastructure and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, has passed the preliminary review of the cabinet meeting on Tuesday and is expected to officially come into effect on January 1, 2028.
This reform has greatly revised the entire traffic fine system, listing 824 illegal behaviors, of which 124 are new items that are completely absent from current regulations. The number of penalty amounts has also been reduced from 82 to 27. The overall idea is to focus on cracking down on high-risk driving, clarify the behavior of applying general terms in the past, and calculate fines based on the actual number of speeding kilometers. The more exceeded, the more fines will be imposed.
The government's technical report states that the official goal is to change the current chaotic situation of fragmented and layered regulations. As for the impact on fiscal revenue, the report states that it is currently not possible to accurately estimate the total benefits of the reform, but overall it remains "neutral" on the current scale of fines. This bill, which has passed the first round of review, will be submitted to the parliament for deliberation and then returned to the cabinet meeting for final approval.
Under the new penalty standards, the lowest level starts from 25 to 100 euros, followed by 40 to 160 euros, 80 to 320 euros, 150 to 600 euros, and so on. The maximum fine amount is set at four times the minimum amount, which is also a commonly used benchmark for on-site billing when paying fines according to the minimum standard.
The 124 newly added illegal situations are not simply imposing obligations on drivers, but formally incorporating the punishment provisions that were originally scattered in the implementation rules or derived from interpreting general terms into the main laws, clarifying the obligations, restrictions, and prohibitions hidden in the general rules, and drawing a new list of traffic violation penalties.
In terms of various behaviors, many fines have increased significantly. For example, if you do not follow the rules when changing lanes, the fine will increase from 42 to 173 euros to 80 to 320 euros; Not yielding when merging into the lane, reversing or making a U-turn will also be penalized according to this standard.
On highways or major suburban roads, if reversing illegally on the main lane, ramp, interchange or emergency lane, the fine will increase from 430 to 1731 euros to 500 to 2000 euros, and 10 points will be deducted at a time; If reversing on a one-way road where parking is prohibited, an additional fine of 250 to 1000 euros will be imposed, with a deduction of 5 points.
Driving a car on the bike lane without permission has also increased the fine from 476 to 1731 euros to 500 to 2000 euros.
When driving on highways and major suburban roads, if the goods are not securely tied up, exceed legal limits, or if the vehicle is not tightly sealed, causing the goods to easily scatter, the fine will increase from 430 to 1731 euros to 500 to 2000 euros, and 4 points will be deducted.
The new regulations also provide clear penalties for some rare behaviors. For example, camping or setting up tents in non designated areas will result in a fine of 80 to 320 euros; If ignition is carried out near the road, or if activities that easily produce thick smoke, steam, or obstruct the line of sight are carried out, a fine of 250 to 1000 euros will be imposed.
When driving in the leftmost lane near the central median with high traffic flow, if the speed is below 100 kilometers per hour, a fine of 40 to 160 euros will be imposed; When congestion occurs, if there is no designated space for rescue vehicles and motorcycles, a fine of 80 to 320 euros will be imposed and 2 points will be deducted.
For cyclists, the new regulations also have separate penalty standards. Bicycle and electric scooter users who suddenly change lanes, move in a serpentine pattern, or fail to pay attention to safety when crossing the road will be fined 40 to 160 euros; Electric scooters driving on sidewalks or zebra crossings are also subject to this penalty.
The new regulations impose heavier penalties on unprotected driving and false insurance behavior. Driving on the road without insurance will result in fines ranging from 866 to 3464 euros to 1000 to 4000 euros, as well as indefinite suspension of the vehicle and a 15 day driver's license; If a forged or false insurance policy is presented, the fine will increase to 1400 to 5600 euros and the driver's license will be detained for 30 days; If the car owner knowingly allows others to drive this car on the road without insurance, a fine of 1000 to 4000 euros will be imposed.
In terms of speeding fines, the new bill no longer uses the previous "one size fits all" four tiered universal ladder. The report explains that according to current regulations, drivers who drive 60 kilometers on roads with a speed limit of 30 kilometers in urban areas, which means speeding by 30 kilometers, and those who drive 160 kilometers on highways with a speed limit of 130 kilometers, which also exceed the speed limit by 30 kilometers, will receive the same punishment of a fine of 173 euros, which is obviously unreasonable. The new algorithm sets a unit price of 5 euros or 10 euros per kilometer of speeding, multiplied by the actual number of kilometers speeding, to truly link the fine amount to the severity of speeding.
