# Traffic Fines - Statute of limitations



## gra80

Hi all,

I rented a car in July 2013 from a well known international car rental firm based on a road just off of Via Veneto in Rome. Due to restrictions on driving in central Rome, when I picked up the car I asked the assistant whether I could drive on the restricted roads such as Via Veneto and I was told I yes. However I just received a fine today (over a year later....Italy never fails to surprise me) stating I had to pay over EURO 100.

My question is whether anyone knows if there is a statute of limitations on these fines? 

I doubt I have any leverage with the car rental company because I do not have anything in writing stating I could drive on any roads. However I do still have the booking details and will be back in Rome in a couple of weeks.

Thanks


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## NickZ

Your problem is it's a rental.

The law is I think within 90 days the owner of the car needs to be notified. It might be 60 days. What usually happens is they notify the rental company. Who then informs the city that you were driving. 

So you can guess what happens. Your photo shows up at the top of the pile. The fine notice gets sent out to the rental company. They point out they weren't driving and send the notice back. The city then asks who the driver is. The rental company looks up the info and sends it back. At this point they send the notice to you. Depending on how busy everybody is the process takes awhile. 

Often the rental company will charge you for them forwarding your info to the city. This charge often shows up on your credit card statement before the fine notice.


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## Arturo.c

Article 201 of the Italian Road Traffic Code ("Nuovo codice della strada", D. Lgs. 30 april 1992 n. 285 and subsequent amendments) states that: _"For residents abroad, the fine must be notified within 360 days from the infraction"_.

The problem is that many city administration and local police bodies have outsourced the fine notification and collection service to private companies, who send the notifications regardless of the time of the offense in the hope that the receiving party will pay up anyway.


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