Overtaking in the Fast Lane

I know I have repeatedly referred to my fear of driving in Italy. So here's why in detail and I'm not making this up. It's not that we are driving on the opposite side of the road - that's the easy part. It's the combination of high risk issues which make such a dangerous mix - speed, trucks, little cars, merging lanes, tunnels, concrete barriers, narrow roads etc etc.
Let's start with speed. The speed limit on the autostradas is as high as 110 MILES per hr. That's the equivalent of 176 Kms per hour. And believe me the Italians drive that fast. Down windy roads. In dark tunnels. Overtaking trucks. Right next to concrete barriers. Believe me there is no room for error . No room for a blown out tyre. No room for a coughing fit. No room for talking on mobile phones. No room for sneezing. One wrong move and it's a multiple fatality. And to make things worse the speed limit changes suddenly. It can change from 90 to 110 then down to 60 all within a 5 second driving window.
Next. Merging lanes. In Italy they barely exist. We are driving along and BANG! Up pops a car out of nowhere on our right. It has about 3 driving seconds to merge with the speeding traffic or it will become one with the concrete wall ahead. Frightening stuff.
Next trucks. Not the slow moving beasts you see in Australia. No they overtake, speed and hurtle along like the Audis and Mercedes, the smell of truck brakes hangs thick in the air as we drive down the tunnels of the Autostradas. They are meant to stay in the right hand slow lane (ha ha, no such thing as slow lanes those crazy Italians), but they get bored so overtake just like the rest of them.
Next. Evidence of things going wrong. It's hard not to miss the signs of multiple fatalities at every turn. The tunnels are pock marked with crash sites, areas of metal barriers destroyed, chunks of walls surrounding on/off ramps just missing. We have been held up twice due to car accidents on the autostradas. And when I stupidly googled 'Driving in Italy' I learnt that Italy has the highest number of car fatalities in Europe. No wonder I'm petrified. So if you are deciding whether to drive in Italy my answer is simple. Don't. Catch the train. Or ask James to drive for you. He is incredible. Calm, courageous, instinctive, a natural driver. And he deserves a thousand medals for putting up with me hyperventilating beside him day after day. Okay enough said about driving. I'll say no more.
Here are some car shots. See, even tuks tuks can't escape unharmed.
Parking Italian style.
And James looking very Italiano in his new hat. Bravo!