Exceeding the speed limit by a few kilometers could cost less than today, while pressing the accelerator too much would risk becoming significantly more expensive. The novelty comes from the draft of the new Highway Code, which introduces a completely different system for calculating fines: no longer sanctions established through exceeding bands, but amounts that progressively increase for each kilometer per hour beyond the permitted limit. A change destined, if confirmed, to affect the habits of millions of motorists, motorcyclists and professional drivers, with different consequences depending on the road traveled and the extent of the infringement.
The principle is relatively simple: those who exceed the limit by 11 kilometers per hour should pay less than those who exceed it by 40, even if today both violations fall within the same penalty bracket. The proposal, contained in the draft legislative decree preliminarily approved by the Council of Ministers on 13 October 2026 and transmitted to the Chambers the following day, also provides for changes to the deduction of points and the consequences on the possibility of driving.
The new fines, however, are not yet in effect. The text is currently being examined by the parliamentary commissions and will have to complete the planned process before becoming definitive. Until then, the sanctions established by the current article 142 of the Highway Code continue to apply.
Fines for speeding, how the new calculation works
The main innovation concerns the overcoming of the system currently based on four speed bands. Today the economic sanctions are determined according to the bracket in which the violation falls, regardless of the exact number of kilometers per hour exceeding within the same bracket.
The new scheme instead introduces a fee for each kilometer per hour exceeded, differentiated based on the type of road.
For cars circulating on motorways with ordinary limits and on extra-urban roads, the draft provides for a fine of between 10 and 40 euros for each kilometer per hour over the limit.
In residential areas, however, the amounts would be more limited for minor infringements. In particular, the text proposes a rate of 5 to 20 euros for each kilometer per hour of exceeding the limit up to 20 km/h. Once this threshold is exceeded, the fine would rise to a range between 10 and 40 euros for each excess kilometer per hour.
It is therefore not a simple increase in the current fines, but a modification of the criterion used to determine them. The overall amount would become directly proportional to the overrun detected, with differences that could be significant especially in the most serious cases.
How much will the new fines cost: examples in the city and on the motorway
To understand the effects of the reform it is enough to consider some concrete situations.
A motorist traveling on an urban road with a speed limit of 50 km/h and exceeding the permitted speed of 11 km/h, after the application of the foreseen tolerance, would risk a minimum fine of 55 euros. The figure derives from the fare of 5 euros multiplied by the excess 11 kilometers per hour.
The same exceeding on the motorway, where the proposed minimum rate is 10 euros per kilometer per hour, would instead result in a fine of at least 110 euros.
The differences become even more evident as the deviation from the limit increases.
On motorways with an ordinary limit of 130 km/h, exceeding 40 km/h would lead, according to the minimum established by the draft, to a fine of 400 euros, compared to 110 euros for those who exceed the limit by just 11 km/h.
Today, however, both violations fall within the bracket that provides for sanctions from 173 to 694 euros.
The new mechanism therefore aims to distinguish more precisely the seriousness of infringements, preventing very different violations from being punished with the same minimum amount.
The examples given refer to the minimum tariffs foreseen by the proposal and to excess speeds already calculated after the tolerance. The actual amounts may be different depending on the definitive provisions and the methods of application of the sanctions.
Speeding fines today: how much you pay
To understand the extent of the possible innovation it is necessary to compare it with the rules currently in force.
Article 142 of the Highway Code provides for four main brackets:
- Up to 10 km/h over the limit: fine from 42 to 173 euros.
- Over 10 and up to 40 km/h: fine from 173 to 694 euros.
- Over 40 and up to 60 km/h: fine from 543 to 2,170 euros, with license suspension for one to three months.
- Over 60 km/h: fine from 845 to 3,382 euros, with license suspension for six to twelve months.
To these consequences can be added the reduction of driving license points, the increases foreseen in certain circumstances and further sanctions in the event of repeat offences.
The difference with the proposal is evident. Currently, exceeding a limit of 11 or 39 kilometers per hour determines belonging to the same sanction band. With the new system, however, the economic amount would progressively grow for each additional kilometre.
This could make some minor violations less onerous, but also significantly increase the economic consequences of more significant ones, especially on motorways and extra-urban roads.
Points on the license and driving ban: the other changes planned
The change would not only affect fine amounts. The draft of the new Highway Code also intervenes on sanctions that limit the possibility of driving and on the reduction of driving license points.
On motorways with ordinary limits and on extra-urban roads, the text proposes a fifteen-day driving ban for anyone exceeding the limit by more than 20 km/h and up to 40 km/h. The period would increase to thirty days for exceeding 40 and up to 60 km/h, reaching ninety days when the exceeding exceeds 60 km/h.
In residential areas, however, the driving ban would be triggered if the speed exceeded 40 km/h.
The deduction of points would also be graduated according to the type of road and the extent of the infringement, with penalties which, in the foreseen cases, could reach up to ten points.
This is a different approach compared to the current system of license suspensions, for which the current rules will continue to apply until the possible application of the reform.
Motorways at 150 km/h, even higher fines expected
Another innovation concerns motorways on which the maximum limit can be raised to 150 km/h.
This possibility already exists in the current Highway Code, but is subject to very precise conditions. The upper limit can only be authorized on sections with at least three lanes plus the emergency lane for each direction, equipped with approved systems for measuring the average speed and in the presence of adequate safety conditions. Any limit of 150 km/h must also be expressly indicated on the signs.
The draft maintains this possibility, but introduces higher penalties for those who exceed the limit on the sections in which they are actually authorized.
In these cases the proposed rate is between 15 and 60 euros for each kilometer per hour over the permitted speed.
The consequences on the ability to drive would also be particularly severe: the ban would start from thirty days for speeds exceeding 20 km/h and could reach 120 days in cases where the limit is exceeded by more than 60 km/h.
The proposal also contains a provision relating to circulation in the lane adjacent to the central traffic island on motorways where traveling in parallel rows is permitted. In the absence of the foreseen exceptions, proceeding at less than 100 km/h could result in a fine of between 40 and 160 euros.
Speed cameras and 5% tolerance: what would remain unchanged
Among the most relevant aspects for motorists there is also the method used to determine the speed that can actually be sanctioned.
The draft confirms the principle of tolerance applied to the readings of the control instruments: 5% is subtracted from the measured speed, with a minimum reduction of 5 km/h.
This means that any exceeding is calculated on the resulting speed after the correction, not directly on the value recorded by the speed camera.
For example, if a device detects a speed of 100 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 90, by applying the reduction of 5 km/h the speed considered for the purposes of the sanction drops to 95 km/h. The excess is therefore equal to 5 km/h.
The tolerance criterion does not represent anything new introduced by the reform, but it would continue to play a fundamental role in the calculation of fines even with the new proportional system.
When will the new speeding fines come into effect?
It is one of the aspects to which we need to pay more attention. Although the draft has already been preliminarily approved by the Council of Ministers, the new rules are not operational and cannot be automatically applied to infringements committed today.
The provision, identified as Government Act number 448, was transmitted to the Chambers on 14 October 2026. The Chamber’s Transport Commission began its examination on 5 November and the deadline for the expression of parliamentary opinions is set for 12 January 2027.
The scheme also distinguishes the formal entry into force, currently scheduled for 1 April 2027, from the actual application of the new provisions, indicated starting from 1 January 2028 and subject to the approval times of the implementing regulation. Under certain conditions, there may also be a postponement to 1 April 2028.
Amounts, thresholds and application methods could therefore change during the institutional process.
For motorists there is only one immediate consequence: fines for speeding continue to be calculated according to the brackets currently established by the Highway Code. The new model, in which each kilometer per hour over the limit would have a specific cost, remains a proposal for the moment.
If confirmed, the reform would however mark a significant change in the system of Italian road fines, introducing a principle of greater proportionality between the speed actually exceeded and the amount to be paid. With a consequence destined to become very concrete for those who drive: it would no longer count only to have exceeded a certain limit, but exactly how much one exceeded it.
