Really nice write up! Italy is such a great country to drive in. I've been there five times already this year and planning a nice drive thru the Dominites next month! Only things I would add are...
Make sure you have an Austrian(or Swiss)
Vignette BEFORE leaving Germany. Most German gas stations on the Autobahn(or any ADAC, the German AAA, but more and much better than AAA) you can buy the decal/sticker/Vignette. AND... be sure to FULLY apply the decal to your windshield!! I've seen some Americans who want to make it easy to remove the "sticker" not full apply it... IF the Austrian Polizei see that... its not 120 euro fine, but 500 euros! Because they think you are moving the sticker from car to car.
Speed limit in any European city is 50 kph when you see the "village or city's name sign). In Germany these signs are yellow. In some sections of the city it can be 30 kph, but you will see a red and white lolli-pop sign.
Speed limit in Austria is 130 kph on the Autobahn unless otherwise posted! At night it is only 110 kph! Tunnels on the autobahn have a 100 kph speed limit. The Austrians use cameras as you pass by they take your rear plate/tag. (in Germany the Blitzer's always shoot from the front of the car to see the driver. In Austria this is not the case.
Do not tail gate... the Germans/Austrians and Swiss all Blitz(photo radar) for tail gating(and speeding) AND for not having a vignette displayed!! And the ticket is not cheap. Two second rule for keeping your distance. The Germans call Tailgating "Abstand".
NO turning right at a RED LIGHT! Not allowed!!
NO passing on the right, on the Autobahn. Only exception is when speeds are lower than 80 kph or in the city and the speed limit is less than 80 kph. Generally passing on the right is not a good idea.
In Italy the speed limit is 130 on the Autostrada, but when you drive from Munich down the Brenner... that section is 110 kph. Speed limit in tunnels is 110 kph.
Vignette's Swiss/Schweiz/CH (left) Austria/österreich/A (Right)
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You MUST have a warning vest for EVERY person in the car. AND the vest must be stored somewhere accessible by the driver/passengers.
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Typical Italian toll plaza. This in on the Brenner Autobahn/Autostrada A22 heading into Italy from Innsbruck.
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When you enter or leave most Italian villages you will see an orange box like this... most of times the box is empty.. but not always! So don't speed past one! normal speed limit in most cities is 50 kph.
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Most Italian gas stations are unattended during the mid day siesta. Not to worry, every gas station has one of these boxes that takes credit cards or CASH(euros)!.
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Yup. $11 per gallon. Normal price for Italians. Sometimes its less.
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Autostrada toll ticket... just like driving on the NJTurnpike... get your ticket when you first enter the Autostrada... then when you exit you can go to a toll both or machine to pay your toll.
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ticket for the Autostrada... (no it doesn't tell you how much, like on the NJTunrpike. lol)
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checking out on the Autostrada... you inset your ticket into the ATM-like machine and drop in your cash/coins or CC...
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Paying: electronic ATM like machine to pay on the Autostrada... (multi lingual)
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You MUST purchase a Vignette...
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typical Italian Autostrada...
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Rules of the Road...
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What's not to love about these roads!
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Bella...
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Munich city sign... these Yellow signs ALSO MEAN the speed limit is now 50 kph!
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Maut is German for TOLL ROAD!
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Detour sign on the Autobahn. When you see the BIG blue autobahn signs flip over to one of these orange arrows... it means in Stau(traffic jam) follow these orange detour signs!
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V-Max sign... the Law... CH = Swiss. Also take note on country roads the speed limit is Switzerland is only 80kph... IF the Polizei catch you driving more than 40 kph over that 80 kph limit... they TAKE your car! No joke!!
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V-Max Italy...
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Auto speedlimit open or free. This sign also means end of controls - for instance IF the speed limit was 80kph say in a construction area... you will see one of these signs. IF its on the autobahn(and there is no other speed limit signs) there is no speed limit.
But even in "free" unrestricted sections of the autobahn... the German government recommends a 130 kph. Have an accident over that 130 kph... and your insurance might not pay. This is why you see very small engine cars driving slow on the autobahn. That and that they don't have much horse power.
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You will see a sign like this in most cities. It means you CAN drive thru this street or city center... but at Schritt tempo... meaning 5 kph! YES, 5 kph! Walking speed. The Polizei is very strict on speeding in the inner city limits.
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Sneaky Polizei is now putting the Blitzer's under the guard rails.
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Yellow highway signs means this is a BundesStrasse... meaning max speed limit of 100 kph! IF the sign were BLUE, then it's an autobahn with a speed limit of 130 kph unless otherwise posted.
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Abstand = Tail gating cameras temporary mounted on an Autobahn overpass. Two video cameras from above... and one high res, high fps video camera bellow on the autobahn guard rail. They take video and still pics. Sometimes you see bar code lines etched into the autobahn shoulder or sometimes just large big white lines across the autobahn as you approach a bridge.
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You will see this sign in construction zones on the Autobahn. It means, offset driving - no cars/trucks side by side. Also for cars in the LEFT lane... they can NOT be wider than 2.0meters wide, mirror to mirror.
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You MAY turn right on red, ONLY after you stop! And ONLY when you see a metal green arrow sign like this. But for the most part 97% of the lights in Germany, there is NO right turn on RED!
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And the most important of all signs... when you are stuck stopped in traffic on the Autobahn(or in a city for that matter)... you MUST make room for Polizei/Ambulance/Fire rescue vehicles... cars on the left move LEFT, cars on teh right move to the RIGHT! IF you are on a three or four lane Autobahn/Road... Left lane cars more LEFT... all other lanes move RIGHT! To make a lane for first responders.
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