Italian holidaymakers face travel chaos amid construction, fuel price hikes

The final weekend of August has plunged Italian holidaymakers into travel chaos as they attempt to return home from summer vacations. Motorists are contending with a trifecta of problems: persistent road construction sites, extensive traffic jams stretching for kilometers, and a significant increase in fuel costs. This surge in prices is estimated to add approximately 430 million euros in extra refueling expenses compared to the same period last year.

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the return home is turning into a real obstacle course.

The consumer association Codacons is drawing attention to a new provision designed to compensate drivers for lost time on the road. However, the association warns that insufficient public awareness and the absence of a single, unified application could undermine the effectiveness of this right. The compensation scheme, initiated on June 1st, offers reimbursements for delays caused by construction work and traffic blockages, with specific conditions based on delay duration and route length.

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the reimbursement is not automatic and to receive the compensation the motorist must act independently.

Codacons points out that claiming these reimbursements is not automatic. Drivers must proactively initiate the process themselves, often by navigating complex websites of highway operators and submitting forms with payment receipts. The association criticizes the lack of widespread publicity for this measure and the absence of the promised unified app, which would have simplified the claims process. This cumbersome and poorly advertised procedure risks limiting the number of drivers who can successfully claim the compensation they are entitled to.

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A procedure known to few, cumbersome and poorly publicized, which risks limiting this important new right of motorists.