The overtaking monitor represents one of the most important innovations in recent years in the field of road safety in Italy. Unlike speed cameras, it does not measure vehicle speeds but focuses exclusively on prohibited overtaking manoeuvres, one of the main causes of head-on collisions on extra-urban roads. The latest version of the device, designated SV3, was approved by the Ministry of Transport with Ministerial Directive number 603 of 11 December 2024 and entered operation for the first time on 4 August 2025 in Acquappesa, along the SS18 state road, in the province of Cosenza. Penalties detected by the system can reach up to 1,308 euros in the most serious cases, with the deduction of ten points from driving licences and their suspension.
The so-called overtaking monitor is not a novelty, as this apparatus has its roots in 2008, with an initial Ministerial Directive that approved the initial version. Over time increasingly sophisticated updates followed, up to the SV2 model of 2011 and the improvements introduced in 2023. The decisive breakthrough came with the December 2024 Decree which authorised the use of the system also on roads with speed limits up to 90 kilometres per hour, extending its application beyond the main fast-flowing arteries. The device finds its legitimacy in Article 148 of the Highway Code, which governs overtaking prohibitions and the conditions necessary for correct execution of the manoeuvre. Infractions range from overtaking on curves or on hills to unauthorised overtaking on the right, up to the most serious cases involving commercial vehicles.
The technical operation of the SV3 system is based on a combination of electromagnetic sensors embedded in the tarmac and high-definition cameras positioned at elevated locations. The sensors detect invasion of the opposite lane, whilst the cameras record a fifteen-second film that documents the infraction, including five seconds before and ten seconds after. The images and data collected are transmitted in real time to the relevant Local Police command, where qualified operators manually verify the material before validating the penalty notice. The system therefore combines automation and human control, ensuring a high level of evidence and reducing margins for contestation to a minimum.
The framework of penalties connected to the overtaking monitor is particularly complex and differentiates violations based on their severity. The lightest ones, such as unauthorised overtaking on the right, involve fines ranging from 83 to 332 euros and the deduction of three to five points from driving licences. Overtaking in particularly dangerous conditions, such as on curves or near hills, is punished with penalties from 167 to 665 euros, ten fewer points on driving licences and suspension of the same from one to three months. In the most serious cases, which concern vehicles exceeding three and a half tonnes in the presence of specific prohibitions, the penalty can reach 1,308 euros with driving licence suspension from two to six months. Aggravating circumstances are also provided for: during night hours fines increase by one third, whilst for newly qualified drivers suspension can reach six months. Behaviour comparable to driving against traffic flow is considered the most serious infraction and is treated with maximum severity.
Installation of the overtaking monitor does not occur at discretion. Prefectural authorisation is required, issued only for stretches with documented high accident rates. The case of Acquappesa is emblematic: the municipal administration chose to await publication of the latest Ministerial Decree before activating the system, thus ensuring full legal legitimacy of the installation and avoiding possible appeals. Operational management is entrusted to the Local Police, which receives the data and verifies infractions. Prefectures oversee compliance with authorisations, whilst the Ministry of Transport retains technical competence and approval of models.
One of the most delicate issues remains that of homologation. Regulations distinguish between ministerial approval and technical homologation, but the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation has repeatedly emphasised the necessity of the latter. This interpretation could open spaces for appeals, even though the 2024 Decree has strengthened quality controls and device traceability, introducing more stringent requirements that aim to consolidate their legitimacy. The obligation to adequately signal the presence of the overtaking monitor remains central, under penalty of nullification of sanctions.
The Department of Public Security has identified approximately 150 critical road stretches that could benefit from installation of the devices. Current distribution shows greater concentration in the north, with significant presence in Piedmont and Lombardy, but strategic arteries such as the Aurelia or the Ionica in Calabria have also been identified as priorities. In Sardinia, on state roads 131 and 195, adoption of the overtaking monitor responds to control needs during periods of greater tourist traffic.
