Italian Musings #2: Transportation

Rome does not have the car culture of the U.S., and probably never will. We saw one Hummer while we were there, and many small cars not even sold in the U.S. -- like the SmartCar on the right. The culture of driving in Italy is entirely different from that of the U.S.

Americans' love affair with powerful engines simply has not caught hold. It's not simply that cars are smaller. Motor cycles and scooters are popular. Surely the Harley-Davidson cult could make inroads here - but we did not see many powerful motorcyles, either.

The most common vehicle in Rome, by far, is the motor scooter. They weave in and out among cars and buses (no one really observed traffic lanes anyway), zipping among pedestrians on the narrow streets, to pull up sharply in front of a door. The rider hops off, locks the scooter, and rushes inside. There seems to be an emphasis on nimble riding and small machines, rather than the big and powerful. One can almost hear the rider's interior "nyah, nyah" to the larger vehicles that can't even turn into the smaller streets, or those stuck behind pedestrian traffic.

In America, we are urged to drive defensively - giving each other room, taking turns, using signals. This may be the source of some of our road-rage: we expect that other drivers will not cut us off, will stay in their lane, will not tailgate our car. When they don't behave as expected, we get angry - and sometimes violent. Woe betide any American who brings those traits to Rome! Driving is a sport, with cars darting in and out. Drivers close up on the car in front until they can read the shirt label of the other driver, applying their brakes to ride the tail until faster cars pass on the left - then zipping out into the passing lane.

I had read that pedestrians just have to walk into traffic and expect that the cars will stop. For the most part, this is true - and unnerving. It feels like a game of chicken: cars don't stop if the pedestrian shows the least hesitation, but halt instantly for one walking boldly across the street - even away from the crosswalks. It took some practice to begin to get the technique; I still preferred the few large intersections where lights offered a bit of protection.

It is hard to put my finger on the heart of the difference in transportation styles. In essence, transportation in Italy is interactive: fewer rules and much less enforcement mean that drivers are constatly creating and solving traffic dilemmas. Narrow or non-existent sidewalks require constant negotiation among pedestrians, scooters, and small cars.

Where Americans take control of a bubble of space around themselves - large vehicle, loud music, enforced rules - Italians seem to enjoy interaction of bumped shoulders, near-miss driving, and, yes, cars so small they can create a parking space where none exists. Whether it's leisurely pedestrians, zippy scooters, or the beehive of small cars swarming over the city, there's much greater interaction.

It felt strange, and a little lonely, to be out driving in Duluth. All the cars kept their proper distance and stayed in their lanes. Yes, it was a little less hair-raising that our trips around Rome. But my travels have left me just a little less comfortable with the bubble of space around me, and more eager to interact: to have a sense of community, rather than simply being one more car in the parking lot.

I wonder what people in Duluth would think of a Smart Car?