Traffic in Rome You should always look in both directions before crossing any road in Rome, even when you think you have the right of way. Italian drivers often treat traffic lights and signs as vague suggestions rather than rules that must be followed. Italians tend to drive recklessly, with a ludicrous lack of patience - typically, they will risk both your life and theirs if they think they can save a few seconds. Sadly, this "efficiency" leads to a level of road deaths that is closer to African rates than other Southern European countries and more than twice the rate of Northern European countries. As a pedestrian, the trick is to assert yourself. Italian drivers can smell fear, their reaction to any hesitation on your part will be to grab the opportunity. It is not unusual to see confused and frightened tourists trapped in the middle of a road for ages, with drivers on both sides simply refusing to slow down and let them get to safety.
To get anywhere, you must learn to take a similar recklessness and simply trust that, when you step out into chaotic traffic, each individual driver will have to skill and self-interest not to hit you - your main concern is simply to be sure that they have seen you and that they have ample stopping space. It sounds crazy but, well, when in Rome … If you do happen to get hit, you will find the emergency medical services in Rome to be top notch and they have a particular expertise in dealing with injuries stemming from traffic accidents. Italian ambulances drivers are also very, very fast
