Overview
St. Francis of Assisi's Day falls on Sunday, 4 October 2026. On this date, a nationwide truck driving ban applies in Italy. The restriction covers goods vehicles (HGV/TIR) only; passenger cars, coaches and motorcycles are exempt from the closure. This matters for international freight operators because the date also falls on a Sunday, which means several neighboring transit countries enforce their own standing Sunday bans on the same day — independently of the Italian holiday. Drivers moving freight along the Alpine corridor, including the A12 Inntal and A13 Brenner routes linking Germany, Austria and Italy, should plan for compounded restrictions rather than a single-country closure. The same applies to eastbound routes connecting Central Europe with the Balkans, where multiple weekly Sunday bans overlap with the Italian holiday window.
Ban Windows on 2026-10-04
| Country | Local name | Time | Applies to | Roads | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | San Francesco d'Assisi | 07:00–22:00 | Goods vehicles >7.5t | All roads outside urban areas | €419–€1,682 |
Pre-holiday day (Saturday 2026-10-03)
The eve of St. Francis of Assisi's Day, Saturday, 3 October 2026, triggers Italy's own pre-holiday restriction: trucks above 7.5t are barred from the same extra-urban road network for a shorter window, either 14:00–22:00 or 16:00–22:00 depending on the region. No other country in the current dataset applies a pre-holiday restriction tied to this specific holiday, since St. Francis of Assisi's Day is a national holiday only in Italy. Drivers routing through France, however, should account for that country's standing weekend ban, which starts independently at 22:00 on Saturday and runs until 22:00 on Sunday, regardless of the Italian holiday calendar.
Country-by-country rules & penalties
Italy
Weight threshold: goods vehicles above 7.5t. Roads: all roads outside urban areas. Recurring pattern: Sundays and holidays, 09:00–22:00 in winter and 07:00–22:00 in summer. Pre-holiday restriction: 14:00–22:00 or 16:00–22:00 the day before. Exemptions: perishable goods, live animals, fuel transport, mail vehicles and ATP-certified refrigerated units. Penalties range from €419 to €1,682 for non-compliant vehicles.
Plan Your Route
Drivers with cargo destined for or transiting Italy should depart before 00:00 on Saturday, 3 October where possible, to clear the extra-urban network ahead of the pre-holiday window. Because Sunday, 4 October also triggers the regular weekly ban in Austria, Germany and Switzerland (Sundays and holidays, 00:00–22:00 or 00:00–24:00 depending on the country), routes crossing the Alpine corridor face restrictions on both sides of the border, not just in Italy. Use secured rest areas for overnight parking rather than attempting to beat the closure, and verify driving time and mandatory rest periods before departure, since a Saturday-night run followed by an early Sunday restart can quickly exceed daily driving limits. When calculating alternate routings through Germany, factor in motorway toll costs using the LKW-Maut calculator, and use the trip cost calculator to compare fuel and toll expenses against the cost of a planned rest-day delay. Building in a border-crossing buffer of at least one to two hours is advisable given the overlapping national bans on this date.
Useful Tools for Truck Drivers
- Interactive Traffic Bans Calendar
- Live Traffic Incidents Map
- Truck Parkings Map (19,000+)
- Speed Cameras (48,000+)
- European Vignettes & Tolls
- European Holidays Calendar
- German LKW-Maut Calculator — calculate motorway toll costs for HGV trucks
- EU Tachograph Calculator — verify driving time and mandatory break compliance
- Trip Cost Calculator — estimate fuel, toll and total trip expenses
Source: nakordoni.eu — Truck Traffic Bans Calendar | Updated: 28.09.2026
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