Italy -- Partial Trip Report

On the way from the hotel to the airport, estimated as a 70-minute car ride, my colleague and I were treated to a very expensive amusement ride via a chartered car. The driver, who operated a Mercedes passenger van, demonstrated multi-tasking to the max.

The first thing we noticed in the car was the television station playing on the front dashboard. There was a daytime talk show playing (in Italian, of course). As we settled in and buckled up, we quickly sped onto the nearest road. Even though today is a national holiday, it took very little time to be cut off by a motorcycle, much to the dismay of our driver.

After speeding through the little towns, traffic circles, etc., we found the straightaway. Here is where the driver demonstrated his skill. As if watching television while driving isn't interesting enough, the driver maintained a stream of phone conversations which arrived on not one, but two cell phones. In addition, he was operating a PDA while steering the van.

I couldn't help but noticing how quickly we seemed to be passing other vehicles, how little time it took to arrive within a few meters of the next "blocking" car, and how little time it took for the car in front to realize it was in their best interest to quickly pull over and get the hell out of the way. Only one car passed us, a BMW 3-series, and this was an anomaly on this venture. The other drivers we passed generally ignored us as we sped by, with very few looking back in annoyance (having been forced out of the way).

It seemed like we were going about 85-90 MPH, but I asked my colleague if he could see the speedometer. The reported max velocity was 170km/h (106 mph). We both kept our nerves, but with accelerated heart rates. My colleague suggested that if the driver "lost it" people would not visit us in the hospital. I suggested we'd receive flowers.

As we approached the toll booth, I wondered just how fast this guy would try to drive through the speed pass lane. 100 km/h? That very strange sensation from four non-moving wheels lasted only for a moment as the driver patiently waited for a magnetic card to be processed and the crossing arm to retract. As the gate opened, we resumed the race, speeding quickly onto the highway, and cutting a sharp right to left diagonal across six lanes of traffic.

Our 70-minute planned trip ended in 45 minutes with us arriving safely at Malpensa airport. If only the security lines moved as fast as our ride to the airport!