Car rental with Sicily by Car for young drivers is ruled by specific conditions that vary according to the driver's actual age. Up to the age of 22, a surcharge applies, however, this is no surcharge from the age of 23 onwards, being the minimum age allowed for almost all car groups in the fleet.
19-20 years
The first fundamental requirement is to have obtained the driving licence for at least one year and one day. Drivers aged 19-20 (already completed) are subject to the payment of a daily supplement called Young Driver. For this age group, the rental of just certain car groups is allowed.
21-22 years
Also in this case you must own a driving licence obtained for a year and a day. For young drivers aged 21-22, the purchase of the Young Driver supplement is still mandatory, albeit at a reduced price compared to the 19-20 year package. The restrictions on car groups are also less restrictive.
23 years
From the age of 23 onwards, no supplement is applied, being this the minimum age allowed for almost all car groups in the fleet. Certain types of cars are restrained to those under the age of 25.
> 25 years
From the age of 25 with a driving licence obtained for at least three years, you can rent any type of vehicle without any surcharge (but remember that 30 years of age are required for luxury vehicles).
Summary
For your convenience, we have summarised the foregoing in the table below. We refer you to our rental information for further details.
| Age | Extra charge |
| 19-20 years | Young Driver |
| 21-22 years | Young Driver with reduction |
| >= 23 years | Not applied |
The Italian legislation for new drivers
Our car rental rules for novice drivers find their main foundation in the Italian legislation in this regard. We quote it briefly as per completeness.
Any new driver who starts driving in Italy should know that Italian law defines a novice driver as someone who has obtained a driving licence for less than 3 years, regardless of age. For this category of drivers, there are specific limits regarding:
- the vehicle's power;
- speed;
- the alcohol level in the blood.
Vehicle power restrictions
New drivers cannot drive vehicles with a weight/power ratio higher than 55 Kw (75 hp) per tonne (concerning the vehicle's tare weight). This is the only limit that lasts only one year from obtaining a driver's licence.
The limits on speed and the alcohol level, on the other hand, apply to all three years where the law considers the driver to be a new driver.
Speed limits
The novice driver cannot exceed 100 km/h (62 miles) speed on motorways and 90 km/h (56 miles) on main interurban roads.
Limits of the blood alcohol level
The law is very strict in this regard: novice drivers must comply with the limit of zero grams of alcohol per litre. In other words, to avoid serious administrative penalties, you must never drink alcohol before driving.