It's simply not true for the cities, people largely drive around 50 km/h if that's the limit. On the highways however going 30+ over the limit is a norm.

Seems same in Bosnia, I traveled there and ppl said I should follow the speed limit at all times due to likelihood of police punishing with big fines. Uhh.. that didn't last long. I was getting tailgated and passed angrily by basically every single person on the road, and even when I did get pulled over by the police (wasn't speeding or violating any driving rule there -- I read up on them), they just sent me on my way once I acted totally oblivious and also they could barely understand my English... heh! Too much hassle to try to get a bribe out of me I guess?

A car I was in was stopped three times in 10 minutes the moment it crossed into the "other" part of Sarajevo. Just before, the driver suggested I watch his speed, which was 5km/h below the limit the whole time. The police were simply taking money from the other ethnic group.

Someone downvoted this, so I'll provide this quote from the UK FCO:

> Taxi drivers from the Republika Srpska might be unwilling to drive to a destination in the Federation, and vice versa.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/bosnia-and-herzegov...

Or Wikipedia

> police conduct around the Inter-Entity Boundary Line separating the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, had been the "greatest obstacle to freedom of movement", including intimidation and arbitrary fines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of...

There are plenty of anecdotes similar to mine on TripAdvisor etc.

> The issue stems from the fact that in Italy if you actually drive at merely 50 km/h in average roads you're perceived as an antisocial menace.

Where did you get that?

The reality is that if you are scared to drive or unfocused in a city like Rome or Milan, you are a menace even at very low speed.

At 10 km/h a car kills a pedestrian.

At 15 km/h without safety bells if you hit a wall you're thrown out from the windshield.

I used to live in Florence, I'm familiar. Yes, cars are dangerous even at low speeds, but I find it annoying that if I drive at 50 km/h in a low-vis, twisty and narrow hill road the car before me will almost invariably ignore the safety distance to signal displeasure towards my slowness.

> but I find it annoying that if I drive at 50 km/h in a low-vis, twisty and narrow hill road the car before me will almost invariably ignore the safety distance to signal displeasure towards my slowness.

I guess you meant the car behind you.

It is called tailgating.

It is very annoying, I agree, but if I can offer en explanation, in those conditions to overtake you wanna cover the less possible distance, being closer to the car in front of you is a way to make it possible.

Having said that: compared to the population the most dangerous cities in Italy are, in order, Genoa, Florence and Milan.

That could explain it too.

To deal with a taligater, according to the experts, you should

> Brake slowly before stopping. Avoid tailgaters when possible by changing lanes. If you cannot change lanes, slow down enough to encourage the tailgater to go around you. If this does not work, pull off the road when safe and let the tailgater pass.

Yes, tailgating, exactly. I'm mostly talking about narrow roads where you need to slow down and maybe go a bit outside of the paved area to let another car pass in the opposite direction; these are common in the hills of Tuscany and overtaking is impossible. My approach if I'm not in a hurry and there is just one car behind me is to slow down to 10 km/h until the tailgater gets the message.