Since I moved to Tuscany, I had the chance to make long highway trips back and forth to Milan. That makes it like 900 km over a week end. I’ve been making these trips in every time of the year, during week days and weekends, with rain, snow, thunderstorms and basically every weather condition you can think of. But most of the time, as it is normal, they were just regular trips, with nothing nearly noteworthy. So what was I to do but think? Well, after some long consideration and self-debating, I think I’ve found the best possible speed to travel on an Italian highway. At least for me. And it is something between 130 and 140 Km/h. Isn’t that surprising?
The reasons why I came to this conclusion are various, but the really important one is that, despite what’s commonly thought of the average Italian driver, the vast majority of us drive right at the speed limit, +/- 5 km/h. That means that if you stick to the limit, you seldom have to break, overtake, or do anything at all, including having to worry about safety distances. You will most likely find yourself in what I call “traffic sacks” for long periods of time. What is a “traffic sack”? It’s that situation where you are the sole vehicle in a long tract of the road, like a couple of km. If you are traveling at the same speed as most of the other vehicles, you will remain alone and safe, with a lot of space ahead and behind, for a lot of time.
Of course one could counter that if you travel at a higher speed, you shall arrive in less time. To which I answer (forgetting for a moment about safety issues): have you ever checked the average speed of a long trip? It is something between 100 and 110 km/h, regardless of the maximum speed you try to keep. You are free to check, but it looks pretty obvious: most of the people drive at the speed limit…
No need to say, I hope no one will just take my words for good. Go on and try! I grant you it is worth the effort!
