The first thing to understand is that despite what many say, the Italians are actually excellent drivers and they take driving VERY seriously whether on the Autostrade or driving anywhere else. You don't see nearly as many fender benders and silly accidents in this country as we see in the United States which is a good thing. You will experience tailgating, ridiculous passing maneuvers, and smaller margins for merging however, if you take driving seriously like I do, it can overall be an refreshing and liberating experience. I see Italians as a very patient and understanding people until they get behind the wheel. They then become seemingly obsessed with getting where they are going and are good at doing so. They are great parkers as well and will come up with some really creative parking spots not visible to the non-Italian eye.
On the Autostrade you normally have to pay tolls and you get your ticket on the way in. As you merge be prepared for VERY small acceleration and merging lanes. They are almost always really small. The right lane is normally filled with the trucks which usually have a max speed of somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90 KMH (around 55 MPH). If your driving around the speed limit which is usually set at 130kph (80mph) figure on staying in the center lane. If you need to pass somebody you'll want to ALWAYS pass on the left. I know in the states we have this bad habit of passing on the right or hanging out in the left lane going slower than other traffic but in Italy you simply don't pass in the right and you'll rarely see it. Keep the tradition going and get out of the way! Once you've passed someone get out of the left lane immediately and carry on. Often you will have someone come up behind you out of nowhere as your trying to pass someone. They will usually flash their lights at you trying to get you to move over. I have definitely been really frustrated about this but its just the way it is. Prepare to be blinded by flashing high beams at night or don't pass until no one is around. You will see people traveling at 150-160 mph occasionally in that left lane and they have zero patience for waiting on someone traveling the speed limit. It's ridiculous but best you just go with the flow and not get frustrated. They also have a terrible habit of passing you on the left and then moving in front of you leaving almost no room. Don't increase your speed as someone's passing you or you may unwillingly be performing the pit maneuver. It will literally scare you half to death and make you think they're going to crash into you but just keep your cool. They actually expect you to use the far right of your lane as they are passing you as well so they can have more space and often utilizing part of two lanes, provided there are no other vehicles in the lane next to you. I don't really understand this but they do and just because they are good drivers does not mean everything they do makes sense.
Another thing to remember is watching your speed on the Autostrade. They typically use Speed Cameras and probably 99.9% of speeding violations are as a result of the camera. The good news is that they actually warn you ahead of time before you pass one, so if your paying attention you'll know its coming. Be careful though because some Autostrade's have many of them. They have cameras on the smaller roads as well and they too have warnings ahead of time. I wouldn't recommend speeding but it never hurts to know about it. Recently they've introduced the speed tutor system which clocks your speed at several cameras tracking you along the way. Arrive at a camera going the speed limit but well before your due to arrive and they'll know you've been speeding. It's apparently very controversial though and I've had a few Italians tell me you can go upwards to 150 kmh without worry but don't count on it!
I've logged thousands of miles on the Italian Autostrade and with so many foreign people (like myself) driving, nothing is completely certain. You'll encounter many drivers from many other countries on the Autostrade so be prepared. I can only suggest being patient and also being confident and making it known what your doing. If you are trying to merge into traffic don't be polite. As long as your not going to cause an accident or kill anyone get in there! Overall its not like driving in India or anything and for the high speeds involved its remarkably safe.
One other thing . . . Don't drink in drive in Italy! The legal limit is 0.05% and if your caught you'll serve 10 days in jail or pay a 20,000 euro fine. They aren't kidding around!
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