Adventurous driving on the roads of Italy

When you think of driving in Italy, what comes to mind? Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s in the left lane, scooters and Ducatis in the right lane and little hatchbacks in the middle lanes? The reality is a bunch of hatchbacks zipping around and scooters zig zagging around the cars. Nevermind the bullet trains which are a superb method of covering multi-hundred mile distances at 185mph.

Recently I had the great fortune of taking a two week vacation in Italy with my wife, also known as Pretty Navigator, aka "Figure" of "Facts and Figure". I was able to observe and participate in a style rarely seen in the states among the general driving public and even considered controversial or road rage worthy. I guess some of us simply are European or Italian style drivers.

A smaller rental car is recommended simply due to the very tight streets and parking in the cities. All the cars are left hand drive and small diesel hatchbacks are numerous with models from Fiat, Peugeot, Skoda, Smart, Citroen, Alfa Romeo and more familiar brands like Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen. There are hardly any pickup trucks but you do see small and midsize SUVs and small vans. Because of the recommended smaller vehicle size, I recommend medium sized and smaller luggage so that it can all be concealed in the back hatch when the car is parked and hidden away from prying eyes.

Opt for the full insurance coverage. After five years of vehicle ownership with either backup sensors or cameras, not having them in an unfamiliar vehicle, in a foreign land with very confined spaces can be nerve-wracking at best and expensive at worst. The way oncoming traffic is so close in the narrow streets, one wonders why more mirrors aren't missing and body panels aren't scraped up. Also get GPS unless you’re going to use your cell phone. More on that later. 

Our vehicle was a Fiat 500L diesel, 5 speed manual which was adequate for around town and not so much on the Autostrada. However power isn't exactly common among compact diesel hatchbacks. For instance, second gear was too tall to climb the steep hills at low speed with any kind of load in the vehicle. Even after downshifting, you sit and patiently wait for speed to increase. The contrast to driving a large, powerful car in our open spaces is very stark. Such as when merging, it’s a series of full throttle applications in first through third gears.

The cities have a very large population of scooters zipping around, cutting lanes, passing over the double lines and on the right side even on two lanes road. They ride with the abandon of a motorcycle club pack run but without the common destination and not quite as loud, and no music. No one gets mad, and I exclaimed, "Whoa!" frequently as passes, cutting lanes and squeezing in was witnessed regularly, including around city busses.

Watch for scooters everywhere, you’ll get passed on the left at any time. You don’t hear loud music, or revving motors, but horns is another matter. Renting a Vespa scooter in Sorrento was a blast. Funny story; even after years of owning an 800lb Harley, I had to learn the technique of the center stand, making sure I was pressing down on the stand so I didn’t keep trying to muscle up the scooter just pulling on the handlebars. It was YouTube worthy, I’m sure.

The Autostrada is where it really gets interesting. Bring Euros in $2 and less denominations the tollbooths unless you get the Telepass device. If you don’t have the pass, you collect a paper ticket at the automated dispenser and when exiting the Autostrada, a manned booth or automated payment collector will accept your money. Credit cards don't appear to be an option but it does have a coin counter. And the automated systems even say, “Arrivederci!” We don't get jack in the US. The highest speed limit observed was 110kph, or roughly 68mph. Despite signs of electronic speed monitoring and spotting camera boxes, many travel much faster than indicated. Here's where it gets fun and proper though: Slower traffic, move your ass over, period. There were countless examples of much faster traffic tailgating a slower vehicle in the left lane only to see the road boulder immediately move over. And the same courtesy is extended to you. The big rigs all keep right, have three rear axles and seem shorter and lower than their US counterparts with bodywork closing the gap around the wheels.

There is a significant disparity in speeds among various vehicles. A flashing signal along the onramp for merging vehicles is a welcome reminder. Driving through smaller towns and transition roads means lots of roundabouts. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to the layout, but GPS is key. With GPS, if you don't opt for the rental company unit, be sure to pay for the data package of your cell phone service provider. Bring a USB cable (or cigarette charger) to keep the phone charged due to the constant GPS data flow. When navigating make sure you're signed into your chosen navigation tool account so your search history and parked car locators are both active. Handy when figuring out which train station you're parked at or wandering the city. Finally, tunnels can cause signal delays so make sure you always know the next turn. Missing one can mean some convoluted redirection and multiple roundabouts.

Diesel near the airport was roughly $6.75 gallon but it's advertised in liters. Also there are two grades of diesel, the base is sufficient for rentals. The Autostrada is clean, well maintained and clearly marked with directions. There are numerous SOS emergency call centers and marked places to pull over. The countryside is particularly scenic, reminiscent of Highways 17, 280 going up the peninsula and the Napa/Sonoma area especially. Interestingly in some stretches there are tall Plexiglas fences to help block wind gusts while still preserving the scenic views. The lanes seem a little narrower and staying between the dotted lines seems to be optional sometimes.

Tunnels are numerous and extremely well maintained and lit. The longer ones have exhaust fans as well. Car spotting isn't remarkable, being spoiled in San Jose. A Ferrari F430 was seen in Rome, a Ferrari California in Sorrento, and right-hand drive 488 GTB Spider and 458 Spider also but those two were in the country from the UK for the Ferrari 70^th anniversary celebration. Porsches are a bit more numerous. Hardly anyone plays their music too loud and thankfully bumper stickers haven't taken off in popularity.

You’re better off if you know how to drive a manual since they are very common there. Regarding the GPS, either it’s my inability to comprehend Italian, but the streets have long Italian names and the verbal GPS announcements are quite length and for me, never seem to match the name of the street and yet took us where we needed to be. But the street signs will have multiple destinations stacked in a column, which is more confusing. And one last thing, make sure you have the proper address and region in case the city or town has a similar name. How Americans got around Italy when driving before GPS must have made for some interesting “discussions”, frequently wrinkled maps and many repeat trips around the roundabouts. Arrivederci! 

Some random car pics from various places in Italy:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1219118094859566.1073741928.378354382269279&type=1&l=6857116f03

Abolish wasteful and unfair HOV Lanes and FasTrak restrictions

HOV lanes waste gasoline and are bad for the environment. How often have you sat idling, virtually motionless when an occasional vehicle drives by? How about watching the traffic reports on the news and seeing the HOV lanes severely underutilized while hundreds or thousands of cars sit idle or barely moving? Imagine the wasted fuel and exhaust emissions as tens or hundreds of thousands of
vehicles sitting twice a day for hours while an adjacent lane is open. Let’s toss in the ill-conceived notion of FasTrak access while we’re at it.

Wasting gas and contributing to polluting the environment are the major drawbacks of HOV lanes. Discriminatory access is patently unfair. Productivity delays and wear and tear are secondary. The intent of the expressway system is to allow as much traffic as possible to move efficiently and safely. That’s it, no other function or purpose. People will carpool if possible. They already use mass transit when they can. The cost of living is high, gas prices are never satisfactory, automobiles are expensive and people will carpool with the incentive of reducing costs. Penalizing other drivers by forcing them into less lanes while one lane is underutilized is nearly criminal in its stupidity, discrimination and environmental impact.

The original intent of the carpool lanes is to encourage or reward people who share rides going to work. Let's look at who it penalizes:

1. Company employees who don't have co-workers living near each other.
2. People whose schedules require them to do things outside of the normal commute to work and home. This could include children, classes, gym, errands, appointments, etc.
3. Any employee whose job requires travel such as sales, repair, delivery, services, either regularly or sporadically.
4. Flex-hour" employees who drive before 9am or after 3pm.
5. Any person who is off work during the week and must plan on traffic back-ups during the week while attending to personal business.
6. Those that cannot afford, need or can drive a qualified hybrid or electric vehicle. How many minivans and pick-up trucks qualify for carpool lanes? Should they qualify? We’ll address that too.

Now let's look what at the NEGATIVE aspects of more cars forced into LESS lanes
means:

1. Long back-ups consume more gas. Far more than the gas saved by the carpools.
2. Carpool lanes contribute to congestion. Every commuter on 280, 680, 237, 85, San Tomas, etc. recognizes this every weekday. They force traffic into less available lanes. One estimate is twenty percent greater congestion: www.thenewspaper.com/news/10/1047.asp
3.  Longer back-ups cause more pollution. These are environmental disasters in every area where thousands of cars idle while there are under-utilized lanes that would allow the average speed of all traffic to increase significantly.
4. Delays, pollution and consuming more gas negatively affect the economy. The money spent could be channeled elsewhere.
5. Large speed differentials in two different lanes is dangerous due to visual perception, merging, etc.

And of course the failed logic of both carpool and FasTrak lanes:

1. FasTrak lanes are not enforceable. Many don’t have cameras to count occupants and how will it count rear seat occupants anyway. FasTrak lanes with license plate cameras cannot know how many occupants a registered FasTrak owner has in the vehicle, penalizing the FasTrak owner if not solo when in a monitored lane. It’s ridiculous in the sheer stupidity.
2. Enforcement is unrealistic. Wasting police time and slowing traffic spotting solo drivers only to find out there is a small child or infant obscured by legally tinted windows. Cameras won’t work for the same reason.
3. Why do more fuel efficient vehicles get to travel more efficiently when less efficient vehicles are stuck in inefficient back-ups?
4. Why do two people in a 15mpg truck have HOV access instead of an over 40mpg diesel (Update: actually 50mpg until the upcoming VW recall) in the regular lanes? Why are 40mpg gas/diesel vehicles not allowed when a hybrid SUV is allowed, possibly with a solo occupant is getting 28mpg and likely far less.
5. If the HOV lanes are fully utilized, then all the lanes are at capacity so what difference does it make that there is a restricted one?
6. And finally, why do archaic toll booths even continue to exist? To waste more fuel due to congestion?

The current and proposed incentives are also illogical. Motorcyclists, electric vehicle and (most) hybrid owners don’t need discounts, they are already saving fuel! Taxing gasoline isn’t a solution because hybrids and electric vehicles don’t consume as much gas but they still contribute to highway wear. The ride-sharing public? They already recognized savings and discounts by their act alone.
There is a real hypocrisy with hybrid SUVs and luxury sedans that are efficient, but do not "save" fuel consumption versus a less powerful or smaller sized vehicle. In other words, a larger, heavier or more powerful hybrid whose fuel efficiency is the same as a non-hybrid still receives a carpool sticker. This makes no sense.

If revenue must be realized by vehicles on the road then the best method is a reader system like the Washington State “Good To Go!” program. Their solution is a coded decal on the windshield or motorcycle headlight or a license plate mounted unit and supplemented by license plate readers for those who don’t have an account. Every vehicle on the road then accounts for its presence. Those who do not have an online account or credit card on file will simply be mailed a monthly bill. But NO method should ever be used to restrict lane access.

The bottom line is carpool lanes need to be abolished. All lawful drivers have the right to use all the lanes. If revenue must be raised, the only fair, logical, environmentally friendly and enforceable method to collect funds is license plate cameras or coded windshield decal headers regardless of the vehicle type of number of occupants. Its time our local and state representatives as well as CalTrans wake up and do what is right for commuters and the environment. Until then, the rest of us should drive in whatever lane is available and most efficient.

What Traffic School should teach - lessons for all of us

In my previous article, I listed some of the absurd aspects of traffic school. In this one I will list some things Traffic School should teach. A perfect opportunity to rant. I encourage readers to add comments with their pet peeves below as well.

If you're a light drinker and don't use drugs, do you really need yet another education on their effects on driving? Can't you get a pass if you hardly partake? It doesn't help if you're trying to talk someone out of driving while they are under the influence because they cannot be negotiated with anyway. If they are sober, well maybe it could help.

Ignoring carpool lanes should be another. The driving public needs another advocate to get rid of these congestion and pollution causing abominations. Even the police must recognize their ridiculous existence. Giving tickets to the smart yet rebellious drivers are at the officers discretion. There are plenty of other safety and equipment violations to enforce. Like lifted trucks!

Slow drivers should close the gaps! Either speed up so that you're moving with the flow of traffic or move out the way. A recurring theme will always be slower traffic keep right.

Residential streets should have a 20mph speed limit like what I remember in Illinois. Keep in mind people will exceed the limit many times, but when streets are narrow and cars are parked on the side, obscuring sight lines, slow down.

The 55mph speed limit is silly in many cases on limited-access highways and slower traffic causes back-ups. How difficult is it to survey a highway to raise the speed limit? How often is it done and when is it announced?

Fines for littering should be increased to $500. Are you sick of seeing cigarette butts at every intersection? It's amazing how much garbage is on the side of the road. The road crews that clean it up can definitely give some insight here.

Use your turn signals. If you're planning on turning, be courteous to other drivers. It's a privilege that we are driving and it is by no means a right. Or a left.

The hands free law is there for a reason. I am stunned how many people still have phones attached to their faces. And how ironic I'm passing them because I'm fed up with their distracted driving. Actually, maybe it's a good sign - it's a signal for the police to pull them over and give them two tickets. One for driving poorly and another for talking on the phone. Funny how you notice someone not signaling or their lights are not on at dusk and what are they doing? Talking on the phone.

Dogs on the lap. Do you put your child on your lap when you drive? A harness attached with a seatbelt, please. Applying make-up in the car. Ladies, this almost as bad as eating in the car. Yes, guys eat in the car too and it rarely looks appropriate. Putting on make-up while driving never does. The fine should have an automatic adder. At least eating doesn't require a mirror.

Trucks, SUVs and Vans. It's rare they are doing 75mph in the left lane, so move over. Any lanes except for the far left. Semi drivers know better, so should we. The only time the Suburban was in the left lane was....you guessed it, passing slower traffic. Why is this? Courtesy - blocking sight lines for those that are obviously traveling faster than other traffic.

Check your brake lights! Every 30 to 60 days I pull on the side of another car and signal for them to roll down their window so that I can tell them their brake lights don't work. Talk about a critical problem!

Turn on your lights, please! If it's raining, getting dark, etc. People need to remember they are not just for illuminating your path, it is for people to see you and not pull out in front of you.

Report smoking vehicles. If you can see smoke, that car single car is polluting like hundreds of "clean" cars. Maybe more. Report smoking vehicles or get phone numbers from the Air Resources Board in California. Check your state for their hotlines.

Unsecured loads. There is nothing more annoying, and in some cases more dangerous, than someones' stuff falling or flying from a poorly secured load.

It feels good to rant. Do you have more to add? Please share them!
Got a question about cars you would like answered? Ask about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc? Ask me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it here on Examiner.com!

The absurdity of traffic school

Traffic school has it's purpose, but when the information provided is faulty and the financial profits are from instilling doubt, it becomes absurd.

Recently someone I know was ticketed for an illegal left turn. Sure it was illegal, but they had to go to the bathroom very badly, and it didn't cause any interference with traffic, whatsoever. Hence the reason for turn being illegal at that particular intersection. Regardless, the driver was at fault.

But since it wasn't close to home, the traffic school option was chosen. $264 for the fine, then a choice of 13 online traffic schools and one video school . Thirteen. Really. As if they don't all share the same server? At least the fee was only $34.95.

Taking the course online in a 2 to 4 hour period depending upon your reading speed and knowledge is far better than taking an entire Saturday to be bored to death. But there were some hilarious, dangerous and outrageous "tips" and "facts" that need to be exposed and revised.

There was suggestion that just before an accident, one should duck and avoid the steering wheel. Guess what happens when you duck? Your seatbelt no longer works properly for your upper body. The steering wheel is meant to collapse and most have airbags nowadays. Can you keep applying your brakes when you duck? This is real idiocy.

Brake failure can occur during prolonged use. This is ridiculous. Apparently we all drive big rigs on steep grades or are doing triple digits going into turn 2 at Laguna Seca in economy cars. Unless you're doing hot laps in a 1980s era Oldsmobile or your car needs serious attention, brake failure isn't happening. Period.

It was suggested to draft other cars during periods of high winds. My goodness this isn't NASCAR! High winds will mean debris will be blowing around. That means you better increase your following distance because that car in front of you is more likely to hit it's brakes to avoid something blowing across the road. And hit them hard.

Essentially contradicting itself, braking distances are listed as 106ft from 35mph and 228ft from 55mph. This is not the 1950s. 228ft is a horrible number for 70mph and and 106ft is more like a 50mph stop. Check out how quickly modern cars stop from 60mph and 80mph here. What about old cars? Well here are some comparisons of the "best stoppers" going as far back as the 1970s. Keep in mind these cars were not ABS equipped, had sub par tires by modern standards and rear drum brakes. Looking at this data, there is definitely a scare factor figured in.

Another statement was children shouldn't be in the front seat because of risk of suffocation when the air bag is inflated. Look, unless there is rash of suffocations from children sleeping or reading under their bedsheets, this is liability hype. Airbags stay inflated for a fraction of a second and if somehow it was in front of your nose, it gently drapes. It doesn't seal itself to your face, blocking your nose and mouth. In fact, when I was a passenger it reminded me of billowing satin pillow. I'm serious. Small children don't belong in the front seat but let's not spread rumors.

There was a mention of a designated driver is defined when there is two are more people. Really? Also, don't park facing against traffic on a two-way street, okay?

Finally, your completed test must be submitted to the county. The strategy here to get more money from you is to feed the fear of doubt that you'll even receive the completion certificate. So of course the optional fees are introduced to expedite it to you. Then when you receive the certificate of completion and have to forward it (why is there an extra step?), the concern of whether or not it will get lost in the mail and by the county surfaces. Needless to say, you start to worry about having a suspended license, being in contempt of court, having a warrant issue and being dragged kicking and screaming from your desk at work by the S.W.A.T. team and getting tossed in the slammer, never to be heard from again. Well, a minor exaggeration but you get the point.

In my next article I'll list some things that traffic school should teach.