AUTO-STRADA

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 42, 17 August 1935, Page 30

AUTO-STRADA

MOTORING IN ITALY

THE ROADS AND THE SYSTEM

The following article deals interestingly with the, motor roads of Italy. Italy, as motorists must be aware, is the leader in the provision of roads restricted entirely to the use of motor vehicles. She has set an example followed as yet only by Germany, but Germany bids fair to outdo her in national efficiency.. One thing Germany is doing that, in the face of some of the.remarks below, is obviously desirable, viz.,; her roads are not straight. I Every few miles the German roads are 'being given a bend; there are to be no long stretches of straight highway tnonotonous to drive; the curves will lend interest and help to keep the driver awake and alert, i I^The article,, which is from "The Motor," says:— f'i'ltaly is unique in the possession of apsystem.of special private roads for motor traffic. ""-The principal lines of communica-

tionrun from Milan to the lakes, Varese-Como-Sesto Calende for Lake Maggiore and Brescia for Lake Garda.-r Then Milano-Bergamo, MilanTurin. Others are from Rome to the sea, Florence.to the west coast, Naples to 'Salerno, Venice-Padua 'and one, now nearly complete, from Genoa to Serrivalle. Altogether a total distance of 623 kilometres or 387 miles of ideal driving.

"Roads projected .will eventually double" this- total. In a few years 'it will be possible to drive from Turin to Trieste, nearly 400 miles, in almost a straight line on a practically private road. ,The longest distance at present in one unbroken stretch is,from Turin, via Milan, to Brescia, near Lake Garda, nearly 136 miles. The native name for these roads is 'Auto-Strada,' indicating that they are for'the exclusive use of motor traffic; ' "Motor-cycles and pedal bicycles are not permitted, except such cycle patrols as are run between points by the road authorities themselves. -Sidecar' combinations are allowed. PRIVATELY-OWNED ROADS. "The rule of the.road is to drive on the right. and overtake on the left. An exception to the rule is. the,x:ycle patrol referred to above. These, and indeed all cycles, ride on the left (workmen engaged on road repairs are permitted to, ride to the • nearest point of exit). The roads are not all under the-same management. Some are privately, .owned and managed, others are owned and run by a State Department known as the A.A.S.S.— Azienda Autonomo- Statale della Strada. "To use the roads one pays a specified tariff compiled in three categories, according to power. Foreign touring cars pay the middle tariff, irrespective of power.: The formula for finding the ; horse:power of a motor engine differs in Italy and. produces figures nearly double those that result; in England and France. The tariff is low and if all. the circumstances are taken into consideration "it means economy to use the roads regularly. I "The distance between Milan and Turin on the main public road is a fraction over 93 miles. A considerate driver needs three and a half hours to do this journey. '• The traffic is mixed and the road much used. The way | runs through one. large town and three others of average:size, besides many villages. The distance by Auto- | Strada between the same points' is 87 miles, and the time, for the same driver, is two hours. The cost of the I journey, for the use of the road, is 30 lire there and back (middle cate- , gory V and the ticket is valid to midnight on the day after issue. "The price of motor spirit is 8J lire per gallon (the' lire is now worth nearly 4d). As the run on the AutoStrada can be made at a regular speed, the consumption is low. "The surface of the public road is but little inferior to the Auto-Strada, but" in wet weather the .latter has all the advantages as it has a non-skid surface. . The great benefit •of these private roads is the entire^ absence of mixed traffic. As is 'natural, the speed is high; the ydiing bloods talk' of doing. Milan-Turin .in an' hour. The actual length of the'enclosed road, not counting approaches, is 81' 4-10 miles. It is possible the hour referred to means the time spent on the actual enclosed part' of the road, from the place where the ticket is taken at one end to the point where it is given up at the next, but even so ... "There is a danger on the-Auto

Strada that is not, apparent at first. The monotonous drone of the engine, the uniform speed and absence of slow traffic, induces sleep. Having overcome this and arrived at the other end, the sudden emergence from two hours on a private road, where all observe the rules of the road, on to a public road full of all kinrfs 'V traffic, calls' for the maximum attention. "There have been accidents on these roads that can easily be explained by the driver having fallen asleep for two seconds, but difficult to understand otherwise with such very capable drivers as one finds in Italy. "Although the drivers: of motor vehicles in Italy rank high" from a purely skilful point of view, I would not award most .of them a prize for considerateness. It is seldom that they wait a favourable opportunity before overtaking and passing another vehicle. "Until recently it was the fashion to keep the finger on the press button .of the electric horn from a long way behind until arriving alongside. : This is being quickly improved. Zones of silence* have .-been established within whichxthe sound of a motof~horn is forbidden. result is a' pleasant quietness that one has not experienced for many years. The roads are safer, and will become more so when the cyclist learns that the new rule is: not made to encourage cycle acrobatics. "Statistics for a recent month show 172 accidents of all kinds as compared with 227 for the same month "of last year, without the silence regulations. Not only is care being taken to render the cities quieter, but special efforts are being made to cure the:road-hog, if cure is. possible; if not, to prevent I him from driving a motor-car at all."