There is a higher fine for those who light fires near the road. The fine goes from 250 to 1,000 euros, as indicated in a note from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT), dated 3 September 2026.
The ministry has thus released the new version of the table of sanctions provided for by the Highway Code, revising various figures upwards.
What does the note from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport provide?
The revision concerns 795 cases: only 66 record an increase in the amounts, while the overall effect is a reduction in the sanction burden of approximately 7%.
The provision for the new Highway Code also introduces 85 new cases, also arising from reports from the local police to make the rules clearer and fill some gaps in the current regulations. These include the ban on lighting fires near the road.
Fires near the road, fine of 1,000 euros
The sanction concerns the lighting of fires near the road: when the behavior can cause a danger or obstruction to traffic, a fine of 1,000 euros is expected.
Not a new fine, therefore, but a tightening of the consequences for those who put road protection at risk, even with respect to situations that do not directly concern a vehicle or the driver’s behavior.
When a fire can become a traffic hazard
To understand the rationale of the rule we must consider the possible consequences of the behavior. The most obvious case is that of smoke invading the roadway. A sufficiently intense cloud of smoke can reduce visibility and prevent the driver from quickly perceiving other vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles or the shape of the road.
The risk can be even greater on a road traveled at high speed. A driver who suddenly encounters an area with reduced visibility may have difficulty slowing down or avoiding an obstacle.
Another element concerns the possibility of sparks or flames reaching the road or surrounding areas. In fact, in the presence of dry vegetation, wind or particular climatic conditions, a small fire can quickly turn into a fire.
The rule is therefore part of a preventive perspective: the objective is to prevent an apparently ordinary activity from generating a dangerous situation for those who use the road.
