Alex71

Just got a speeding ticket from Livorno after almost a year. I was only 2 km/h !!! over the speed limit and am expected to pay 99 EUR, although it will be discounted to 69 EUR if I pay within two months.

Is there any way they can collect this in Germany? I feel 2 km/h is so minor that it's rediculous to send a ticket for this. Also, the letter included a link to look a pictures, but I'm only getting an error message when trying to pull up my information.

lhrsfo

I got pursued back to London for driving in an area of Rome where apparently I wasn't meant to drive. The letter came recorded delivery - presumably the car rental company gave them my address.

I was tempted to ignore it, but concluded that I didn't want to have trouble when I returned to Italy.

Forrest Bump

2 km/h are in in excess the 5% tolerance considered in the speeding violations in Italy.
Thus your speed should certainly have been higher.
I know, weak solace.

DENROC

If ticket ignored what is likelihood of further enforcement?

Forrest Bump

In case of a rented car, with the actual hunger of fiscal police, high. At least towards the rental companies. No idea of the procedure and the enforcement with foreign number plates.

Often1

OP doesn't provide details as to what he was driving, e.g. rental? But, as others note, there is an increased willingness to collect these things, the penalty for failure to pay will likely rise astronomically over time, OP may someday wish to drive in Italy again and, if a rental, there is a likelihood that the rental company won't do business again due to the administrative problems things like this create.

For Eur 69, this hardly seems worth it. Having to pay Eur 400-500 3-4 years from now when you suddently need to drive in Italy will be more aggravating.

DENROC

Due to continuous "dunning" for payment of an absurd camera speeding ticket on the autostrada near Florence, I have on numerous trips to Europe simply avoided Italy. Dunning contacts are not from the car rental company but appear to be collection agencies on the part of the municipal claimant.

Miss Tuscany but have really learned to love and appreciate the south of France

flapane

Rental car agency will likely charge your credit card.
If you were driving a car with a foreign license plate, chances are the next time the owner of the car is caught speeding (or the next time it goes through customs, if non-EU citizen, just like when you get fined in the US and try to return without having paid the ticket) he may pass a hard time and have a talk ot two with Equitalia agents or Fiscal police, not to mention the increased amount because of the expiration date of the fine.

At the moment, there's not reciprocal forced collection inside EU and EU citizens tend not to always pay such "foreign" tickets, but if I'm not wrong things should change in a few months.

Often1

Depending on the particular scheme:

1. Penalties generally increase exponentially over time. Nothing like a EUR 50 ticket which is not EUR 750.
2. Some jurisdictions make the registered owner responsible. If that's a rental, the rental has your CC and you will see the charge + a hefty administrative fee, sooner or later (go back and read your rental contract for the amounts).
3. Some jurisdictions turn these over to collection. Depending on your residence, this can adversely affect credit.
4. Some just sit back and wait. There are those who can avoid visiting a country, but it's awfully hard to tell your employer that you can't travel to a place where you're needed because you are fearful of being hit up for some off the charts unpaid penalty.

This one's only EUR 69.

Alex71

Thank you for your replies everyone. I think I'll just pay to get this off the table, although I still think the violation is so minor that it it absurd to charge for it.

Let me provide some more details:
- the car is a company car that my employer provided to me for permanent private usage (four years)
- it has a German licence plate
- the car will be replaced in early summer 2014, I don't expect to drive it to Italy before that
- the speeding ticket was issued by the city of Livorno, not by any national authority in case this makes a difference.

slawecki

just forget it. thats what you want to hear, so forget it. i have a 15 year old illegal right hand turn ticket for nyc outstanding.

JMN57

so that's what you look like. the picture over "Slawecki wanted for illegal turn" at the Holland Tunnel!

in all seriousness, one of the problems with electronic tickets is waiting for the shoe to fall. drove 2500 km in August and one could wait a year or more to know. is there a statue of limitations?

FlyingHoustonian

tangent question, probably more for Germany forum, but I'll ask here.

My cousin did a week in Germany in June and just got a note from the rental company, Hertz, that they had provided his info due to a ticket.

It also had a receipt for the 27 Euros they auto charged his card. How long will his wait be for the actual ticket? when I lived in Germany I never got a ticket and I've gotten one here in Italia either so I'm not really sure.

I have enjoyed the pay-on-the-spot Dutch tickets though....

LBru

Hey guys.. quick one for you. Not really looking to debate the moral decision, but just wanted to know what would happen.

We received a speeding ticket from one of those electronic boxes in Italy. We had a rental car from Hertz and eventually received a ticket in the mail months later. The ticket was for about 140 Euro ($195) if paid within 5 days of receiving, (which has already passed for us), or 195 Euro ($265) if paid within 60 days, and 350 Euro ($475) after. Seems pretty excessive.. if it was cheaper I wouldn't have hesitated and just paid it to avoid a hassle later.

But - what happens if you don't pay it? It seems like if you don't return to Italy and rent a car, you should be fine. But say I went back and rented a car from a different car rental place.. would they be able to track it somehow? Or even worse would customs / border control see something like that linked to you when trying to enter the country? The rental companies do take a copy of your passport.

Now I have some family over in Italy and they tell me that a lot of people who live there just don't pay them. I just want to know if anyone has any real experience with this. I'd hate to pay the ticket just to find out that its just a tourist trap hoping that visitors just pay it to pump up revenue.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

baker375f

Since it was from an electronic box - likely they notified the rental agency, who notified you? Yes? If so, I think, the rental agency will give them your credit card info.