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.