Italian Pedestrians Who Cross While on Phone Could Be Fined

Italy's transport ministry has drawn up an updated highway code that will target pedestrians who stare at their mobile phones while crossing the road, according to the Guardian. The move follows several court rulings that assigned blame for road accidents to careless pedestrians, the paper reported on Monday.

The draft code, which has not yet been approved by parliament, would introduce fines for distracted crossing. The Guardian noted that the measure is part of a broader effort by the transport ministry to improve road safety across the country.

For Tuscany, where narrow medieval streets in Florence and Siena fill with visitors navigating by phone maps, the rule touches a familiar tension between daily life and the postcard crowds. The region's historic centres were not built for the volume of foot traffic they now absorb.

The Guardian's report did not specify the amount of the fine or the exact wording of the new provision, but it placed the measure within a series of updates to the highway code that the ministry has been preparing. The paper cited several court rulings in which judges determined that pedestrians absorbed in their phones bore responsibility for accidents, a legal shift that paved the way for the new rule.

The proposal arrives as Italian cities debate how to manage the competing demands of residents, commuters and the millions of tourists who visit each year. In Florence, the historic centre's narrow pavements often force walkers into the road, and phone use while crossing has become a common sight. The new code, if approved, would give police a tool to address one small part of that congestion.

The transport ministry has not announced a timeline for parliamentary consideration. The Guardian noted that the draft is part of a package of measures aimed at reducing road deaths, which have remained stubbornly high in Italy compared with other western European nations. Whether the pedestrian provision survives legislative scrutiny remains to be seen.

For now, the rule exists only on paper. But its symbolism is clear: in a country where the car has long dominated policy, the pedestrian is finally being held to account. Whether that will make Tuscan streets safer, or simply add another fine to the tourist's bill, is a question the region's mayors will be watching.