Moped rules: helmet, top speed and passenger

The speed limit for mopeds is 45 km/h. It is set by the Codice della strada (Highway Code), art. 142.

The limit depends on the type of vehicle: whoever rides a moped must respect 45 km/h.

For the exam, remember the exact figure: 45 km/h.

On a moped and on a motorcycle, the driver and the passenger must wear an approved helmet, properly fastened, while riding (Codice della strada, art. 171).

Approved means that it follows the standards. Fastened means with the strap closed: it is not enough to have the helmet on your head without closing it.

The helmet is not needed on three-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicles with a closed body.

Here the age of the driver matters. At age 14, the AM licence lets you ride only in Italia and without carrying other people (Codice della strada, art. 115).

From age 16, the AM licence is valid without this limit. From that moment you can carry a passenger.

Be careful: the passenger must also wear the approved helmet, fastened, like the driver.

At a junction, unless signs say otherwise, you must give way to vehicles coming from the right (Codice della strada, art. 145). Here, signs means the road signs: if there are no signs that say something different, the rule of the right applies.

At rail crossings, however, you must give way to vehicles on rails, such as the tram, unless signs say otherwise.

Overtaking is the manoeuvre in which a vehicle passes another vehicle, an animal or a pedestrian, moving or standing, on the part of the carriageway (carreggiata) meant for traffic (Codice della strada, art. 148).

The carriageway is the part of the road where vehicles drive.

For the exam, remember two things: you can also overtake an animal or a pedestrian, and passing a stationary vehicle also counts as overtaking.

Speed of 45 km/h, a fastened helmet, the passenger, right of way to the right and overtaking are typical topics of the AM exam questions.

To review them, you can practise with the explanations and the exam simulations of PatenteInTasca. PatenteInTasca is not affiliated with the Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT) (Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport) or with the Motorizzazione (the vehicle licensing office), and it is not a driving school.