Drivers in Italy

So I was in Italy last month and I have to say I love it! It’s hot! The food is so good! And most importantly they drive like absolute freakin loons! There are definitely no shades of grey with Italian drivers. They come in two clearly labeled forms. They either drive like my Auntie Lorain (Well respected in our family as the fastest female driver on the planet) with somewhere to be, or they drive like a aged blind woman that hasn’t driven since 1987!

Driving to our quiet and peaceful house situated just north of the middle of nowhere in southern Italy. There was a small white car, aged and bruised by the Italian parking system (‘if there is not enough room, make room’) that couldn’t quite decide if it wanted to be on the road or not. It was gently swaying from the inside lane of the dual carriage way, to the hard shoulder and back. Traveling slightly quicker than an overweight middle aged man trying to finish his first marathon, it was to say the least livening up a few other road users! This car represented the ‘slow’ category beautifully, all the boxes were ticked and many years of practice were obviously paying off.

However, on the way back from our quiet and peaceful house situated just north of the middle of nowhere in southern Italy. There was a perfect example of the ‘fast’ category. He caught my attention as he swiftly and calmly squeezed his way between two cars on the duel carriage way. Personally when I had first seen the hard shoulder inside lane driver, my thought was to try and find a way to pass slow and wide. But no, not this guy. As he undertook us he moved back to the outside lane just long enough to decide that the car ahead could also go nowhere. He moved back to the inside lane and just as the ‘slow’ driver swayed towards the hard shoulder he grabbed his chance! He successfully created a third lane on a dual carriageway and continued his speedy journey towards the pearly white gates!

My thought for the bus is this: Why do people in Europe drive so differently to us Brits?? We are not that far away and we all drive fairly similar cars. We have our fair share of bad drivers, but no one with the minerals of those on the main land! Is it because they drive on the other side of the road?