Normally, who rents a car, is responsible for all violations committed with the vehicle, even if he or her were not driving it at the time. In some cases, the rental company can charge the client directly for the ticket and associated costs. Otherwise, the company can initially pay the fee for the ticket and then include the cost in the final rental price the client has to pay.
We always recommend to read the terms and conditions of the rental agreement thoroughly before renting a car, in order to be well informed about your obligations in case of a traffic violation.
Management of tickets for a rented car
When you rent a car, it's important to understand which consequences might be connected to dealing with tickets. Besides all fines required by the law, the owner of the rented car may be asked to pay any ticket that was given during rental time. Infact, the responsibility of paying the tickets always lies with the renter.
Generally, when you rent a car, the owner must provide the renter with detailed information about all legal regarding the payment of tickets. Moreover, if the car was rented by a company, it will be held responsible for all legal violations committed by the driver./p>
When you get a ticket for a rented car, the procedure that must be followed mostly depends on the type of rental agreement and the conditions of the service offered by the rental company. In most cases, the company will notify the client about the cost of the ticket that must be payed within a specific amount of time. If the client doesn't pay accordingly, further penalties will be applied, which can vary depending on the type of rental agreement.
Furthermore it's important to know, that if you get a ticket while driving a rented car, the authorities can ask either the rental company or the client directly for the payment. In this case, it's necessary that the driver provides the authorities with all the personal data needed to pay the fine.
A last advice: before driving a rented car, be sure to have understood all rules and regulations about dealing with the payment of tickets. This way you can avoid to incur in more fines that would imply a major cost.
Who receives the notification of the ticket?
There are esentially two ways by which you can receive a ticket.
- IMMEDIATELY, means that the agent in charge has caught you in the act and hands you the ticket personally. In this case the ticket will thus be notified to you directly .However, the owner of the vehicle will be notified with a copy of the ticket within a period of 100 days.
- SUBSEQUENTLY, the rental company, being the owner of the vehicle, will directly get the notification of the ticket which will be sent within 90 days counting from the moment of the violation. When this is the case, the rental company has time for 60 days to provide the authorities with the data of the driver. The authorities in turn, must notify the driver about the ticket within 90 days. In other words, before you effectively receive the ticket, it might even take 240 days.
Is it possible to appeal a ticket gotten with a rented car
You can appeal a ticket gotten with a rented car. The italian law has principles of good faith and justice, so it is possible to appeal a ticket gotten with a rented car. The owner of the car, namely the rental company, is responsible for any violations committed with the car; nevertheless, if the violation wasn't caused by whom the vehicle was used but by other external circumstances, like for example a car accident, then it will be possible to appeal.
When you appeal a ticket gotten with a rented car, it will be necessary to provide proof that sustaines your version of the facts and that demonstrates that there was not comitted any violation. For example, if you believe that the violation was caused by an accident, you will have to add documents or evidence to confirm this.
It's important to note, that some rental companies will apply proper policies in case of violations with rented cars. This means, that they can charge you the ticket with possible additional taxes. Therefore, it's advisable to read all the terms and conditions carefully, before signing a rental agreement.