Renting a car in the country can be terrifying (like when F1 wannabes creep on your bumper) but also liberating, says Christina Lynch, author of The Italian Party (St. Martin’s Press), who spent four years living in (and driving around) Tuscany researching the novel. Here’s her advice for safely navigating the autostradas.

Stay to the right. The left lane is strictly for passing. Look for city names, not route numbers. Think directionally—if you’re leaving Milan for Florence, for example, watch for the sign pointing the way south to Rome rather than a route marker for the A1 highway.