The Council of Ministers has given the first green light to the new Highway Code: as stated in the official text, the new Code will come into force on 1 April 2027, but the provisions will become effective on 1 January 2028. However, this deadline could be postponed to 1 April 2028: at least 180 days must in fact pass between the entry into force of the implementing regulation and the operation of the new rules.
What this text envisages is “a general reduction in fines and, at the same time, a decisive contrast, desired by Minister Salvini, to the behaviors that most jeopardize the safety of all road users”. Among the main innovations of the Code is the reduction of fines for speeding, therefore a rationalization of sanctions and a downward rounding of the amounts compared to current legislation.
How fines for speeding are calculated with the New Highway Code
It must be said that there are currently four levels of severity, calculated on the basis of excess km/h. Anyone who exceeds the limit by up to 10 km/h pays at least 42 euros, and the figure rises to 173 euros between 11 and 40 km/h too much. Up to 60 km/h the amount is 543 euros, while beyond that threshold the minimum fine reaches 845 euros. According to the new code, the fine for speeding could soon be calculated kilometer by kilometre. The text links the amount of the fine to the speed actually recorded and the type of road. For example, on the motorway and extra-urban roads, every km/h over the limit would cost from 10 to 40 euros. In residential areas, for speeds exceeding 20 km/h, the rate would range from 5 to 20 euros per km/h.
For heavy vehicles and vehicles transporting class 1 dangerous goods, i.e. explosive materials and objects, the rate on motorways and extra-urban roads rises from 15 to 60 euros for each km/h over the limit. In the city there are no differences compared to cars. From 5 to 20 euros per km/h up to 20 km/h in excess, from 10 to 40 euros beyond that threshold.
The new method, therefore, can be summarized as follows:
- It counts how many km/h the limit has been exceeded;
- Then you multiply that number by the rate set by Table 1, the annex to the Code that establishes the amounts. In the city the minimum is 5 euros for each km/h in excess, up to 20 km/h in excess.
For example, a car that exceeds the limit of 50 by 15 km/h would pay at least 75 euros, compared to the 173 expected today for the range between 11 and 40 km/h. There remains a tolerance in favor of the driver on the speeds measured by the electronic detectors, a tolerance of 5 percent, not less than 5 km/h.
The additional sanctions based on the new mechanism
Furthermore, the draft also redesigns the additional sanctions, i.e. the suspension of the license and the loss of points, linking them to the severity of the violation. Outside residential areas, on motorways and extra-urban roads, the ban on driving would last 15 days above the limit of 20 km/h, would increase to 30 days above the 40 km/h limit and would reach 90 days when the speed exceeds the permitted speed by more than 60 km/h.
In the city the threshold that triggers the stop sign is higher and starts at 40 km/h too high. To complete the picture there is the deduction of points, ranging between 2 and 10 depending on the type of road and the extent of the infringement. Anyone who pays within five days of the dispute or notification will still have the 30% discount.
Article 50 then maintains the possibility, already foreseen by the current code, of raising the limit to 150 km/h: it will apply on motorways with three lanes plus the emergency lane, equipped with systems to measure the average speed, where the manager decides to raise the limit.
Added to the amounts are the increases that article 123 provides for other cases: for example, the fine increases by one tenth for those who repeat the same violation within five years and for those who drive a car with more than 150 kW of power. And new drivers, for the first three years, lose double the points.
