Proposed Italian Traffic Law Overhaul Faces Heavy Criticism From Local Officials

A sweeping legislative draft to overhaul Italy's highway code, transmitted to the Chamber of Deputies, is drawing intense backlash from municipal leaders and urban mobility officials nationwide. The preliminary text, which received initial approval from the Council of Ministers, proposes a total shift in how speeding fines are calculated by linking penalties directly to every single kilometer per hour a driver exceeds the speed limit, moving away from fixed penalty tiers.

Under the proposed system, speeding violations on highways and out-of-town roads would incur fines ranging from 10 to 40 euros for each kilometer per hour over the limit, while urban areas would see fines between 5 and 20 euros for speeds exceeding the limit by up to 20 kilometers per hour. The draft also confirms provisions allowing motorway operators to raise maximum speed limits to 150 kilometers per hour on qualified three-lane stretches equipped with average speed monitoring systems, while attaching stricter penalties for breaking that specific threshold.

Despite the government's push to modernize the regulatory framework, mobility councilors and officials from 27 provincial capitals have formally petitioned the government, parliament, and the Unified Conference to demand a complete revision of the text. In a joint document, the local leaders argued that the reform undermines road safety and sustainable mobility, sharply restricts municipal autonomy, and diminishes protections for vulnerable road users.

The petition outlines five core objections to the draft legislation. First, the local officials contend that the text demotes road safety and sustainable mobility as primary state objectives, replacing them with the principle of free circulation and balancing life and health against economic and productive needs. Second, they criticize the centralization of authority within the Ministry and Prefectures, which they claim strips local authorities of their ability to manage traffic plans, speed limits, pedestrian zones, and traffic-calming measures.

The reform also introduces significant hurdles for establishing neighborhood 30 kilometers-per-hour zones, restricting exemptions exclusively to individual streets or sections where accidents have already occurred. Furthermore, the draft mandates free access to limited traffic zones for millions of hybrid and electric vehicles, a move critics say will exacerbate urban congestion. The local leaders also raised alarms over provisions that shift legal responsibility onto pedestrians and cyclists, such as requiring pedestrians to stop and verify they have been seen before using crosswalks.

Proponents of the draft framework maintain that the proportional penalty system offers a fairer approach to minor infractions, moving away from disproportionate fines for marginal speed excesses. The legislative package is slated to enter into force on April 1, 2027, and become fully effective by January 1, 2028, provided that necessary implementation regulations are met.

However, with opposition mounting from municipal administrations across the political spectrum, the final parameters of the reform remain open to debate. The draft is currently awaiting formal opinions from the Unified Conference, the Council of State, and parliamentary committees, leaving room for potential adjustments before any final legislative enactment.