The IWA Modena women who attended the Lawyer’s Aperitivo at Mon Café in Modena’s Centro on Wednesday June 3 at 7:30 pm were certainly glad they did because of the helpful “real life” information they learned. Expert advice was provided by Pier Luigi Guidastri, attorney at law, with his own practice in Modena as well as being Emilia Romagna’s supervisor of Cittadinanzattiva’s lawyers. While the night was filled with information such as the different types of police and their roles within the city/region/state, here are just a few of the things Pier recommends you should know:

  1. If you are in a car accident you should always call the State Police (Polizia) (dialing the number 113). This ensures that the correct police report is completed, which is important for insurance reasons. There are instances where the other drivers may insist on handling the issue on their own and this could lead to problems with fraud on their part or even worse, issues if there is an injury. You should also go to seek medical advice in a hospital (Pronto Soccorso) immediately, but latest within 48 hours, if you feel you may be injured as a result of the accident. This also assists with insurance if needed.
  2. Never leave your handbag or anything of value visible in your car, even if you are loading packages or bringing your children to the school. If the unfortunate incident does occur and you actually see someone breaking into your car, do not approach or follow the intruder. Call the State Police or Carabinieri (113 or 112) immediately so that you can provide any detailed information you know about the incident and the intruder.
  3. If you have a bicycle, always be sure to lock it up with a fixed object – i.e. public bench, road signal, street lamp, etc- . If your bike does get stolen, it is unlikely that you will recover it, however you may want to check out the “used bicycle” stores or unofficial markets located normally near to the railway stations, because most of the times thieves are selling the items they took.

A helpful office that is also available is the URP (Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico), which provides various types of information or assistance. For Modena the contacts are: 05920312 or www.comune.modena.it

In summary, while Modena is a safe place to live, you should ALWAYS BE AWARE of your surroundings and the possibility of things. This advice can be applied to anywhere you live or visit.

Helpful Emergency Numbers:

Police 113

Carabinieri 112

Fire Brigades 115

Medical Emergency 118

Municipal Police 05920314

Children’s Emergency 114 (for mistreated children)

Written by Jennifer Trovato

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