While we’re on the subject of police, which we were very briefly in April, it seems the Italian police are making a huge public relations effort just now. Our guest and I made a day trip to Genova last week, and among the many delights that city offers we stumbled upon a Road Safety Exhibition at the seaside near the Palazzo San Giorgio. The Carabinieri and the Polizia Stradale were there in numbers, including this gentlemen entertaining a group of youngsters. Behind the auto’s open hatch is a radar speed gun which can be used either from a stationary position or from a moving police car. Bah! The autostradas now have a nasty thing called Tutor, which is a fixed speed gun mounted to various bridges, etc. But this little item below is really mean – it can get you coming or going.
Part of road safety, alas, is the ambulance service. Finally the young fellow on the right below was able to answer our confusion about all the different colored Crosses – Croce Rossa, Croce Bianca, Croce Verde (Red, White, Green)- all of which seem to operate ambulance services in and around Rapallo. The Red Cross is affiliated with the International Red Cross and is a professional outfit; some of the participants are paid. The Croce Verde and Croce Biancha instead are all-volunteer organizations. Just to make things more complicated, there is also a Croce Rosa (Pink Cross), also volunteer; I don’t believe they operate in our area (please tell me if you know otherwise!). A few years back I needed a quick trip to a hospital. I can’t tell you which color cross came to cart me off, but whoever they were, they were fantastic.
Just a cotton-pickin’ minute… Why are the Carabiniere on BMW’s? Can’t Ducati or Bimota or Cagiva or Moto Guzzi make a good enough cycle for our national police??
Only by the sea will you find fast floating rescue vehicles like the jet ski below, this one under the auspices of the Fire Department. Personally I never think of boats catching fire, but evidently they do. There were 42 serious fires/explosions on boats in 2006, just in the U.K!
This was my favorite exhibit, though. It’s another fire department truck that is also a boat! Wouldn’t that be fun? (I want one, after I get my car that turns into an airplane…). When the baby below blew her horn we jumped out of our skins – think of standing inside a foghorn and you’ll have the general idea.
We arrived at the Expo at about 12:30 p.m., which by sacred decree is part of Italy’s lunch hours, so there were not many people visiting the Expo. That was good for us, because we got to speak with the people in the booths. It’s great to see the Police of all stripes making an effort to educate and to be friendly and helpful. Even if they do have those @#$! speed guns.
An Ex-Expatriate 
By the Way Carabinieri used to be on Guzzi’s when I was growing up .. then everyone went German … as far as the tutors and such the police are required to put signs up ahead of the supposed radar detectors .. so my question is .. if you know the radar is up ahead do Italians slow down? (this is a rhetorical question btw)
It’s odd about the warning signs, isn’t it, Marco? They have to post warning signs in Arizona, too, yet they still catch plenty of speeders. A cop friend there told us they don’t care if they catch anyone or not, they just want to slow people down because statistically there will be fewer accidents if people drive more slowly. This does not speak to the Italian soul, I know. I’ve had people blow by me at 160, 180, just after passing the ‘Tutor’ sign. I’ve always figured they know somebody… Wish the police would go back to an Italian marque.
Could the carabinieri possibly be better looking than the Vermont State Police? Are there any female carabinieri? I bet not….
You’re right and you’re wrong. The Carabinieri are better looking than ANY State’s police; and of course there are female carabinieri – 709 in 2006!
Oooo! I love a man in uniform. Although I prefer the carabinieri to the polizia. They more sulky-looking in a sort of James Dean way.
I agree – there’s something fetching about a uniform. I prefer the Carabinieri uniform too. The red stripe down the leg is very nice – and the polizia look slightly silly with their traffic lollipops stuck in their boots. Actually, no policeman looks silly – it’s just the lollipops that are silly…
All of this would have only been to sweet if you had spotted a Montalbano lookalike among the uniformed crowd. Boy does he make the females swoon!
Okay, I admit I had to look up who Montalbano is. I haven’t read any of the books or seen the show – he is good looking, though. I think anyone in a Carabinieri uniform looks great, swoony even.
Oh yeah – those bidirectional radars have been all around the US for many years. This would explain the popularity of radar detectors, which are legal in most states. I wonder what status they have in Italy in terms of legality?
I have never known any bunch of boys who didn’t love to show off their toys. And when given a choice, go for the Red Cross. In this country there are many women who make up volunteer and professional ambulance crews, so gender isn’t an issue. However, training and experience can vary with volunteer crews, so I would prefer to have a Red Cross ambulance show up on my doorstep if I needed emergency medical attention. But anyone with a big rig, lights and sirens can make you feel better when you really need help, I guess.
Good question – I’ll have to ask about radar detectors here. Have never seen one, but that doesn’t mean they’re not around. If I’ve got an emergency I’ll take whoever can get up the hill fast! What isn’t in the blog post is that there’s a second car behind the ambulance with a physician on board – they don’t take any chances. One of these days I’ll write the ‘medical post.’
Unfortunately speed guns are not confined to Italy, as I can attest with my chequebook! I had no idea that they could “get you coming or going” and learned an expensive lesson on the flat plains of Kansas (USA) that “oh yes they can”. 55MPH indeed – there wasn’t anything but cornfields for miles around, oh yes, there was this teeny-tiny speck of a car coming toward me waaaay off in the distance and it turned out to be you-know-who with his speed gun. Hundreds of dollars later, I am a believer.
Isn’t that a pity? And so pointless! Why shouldn’t you zoom along on an empty highway. Bah! (she said again…)