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Below is a list of items that are required to be carried in one or other of the countries of Western Europe.
If you were to carry all of the items on the list in your motorhome you would meet the legal requirements of all of the countries in Western Europe and probably Central Europe as well.
Some are obvious such as passports and driving licences others are not quite so.
In France, amongst other countries, you are required to carry proof of ownership or the owner's permission to use the vehicle and evidence that the vehicle complies with your home country's laws.
You are also required to carry evidence of adequate vehicle insurance.
Your lights must not dazzle other road users; the solution being the use of 'beam benders' or masks on the headlights.
Many countries, including France, now require that a person who has to exit their vehicle on a motorway must wear a fluorescent jacket/vest. Many people have now taken to carrying as many of these vests as there are people in their van so that they do not fall foul of these laws.
Carrying a warning triangle that must be displayed 30 Metres to the rear of your vehicle should you break down is now a standard requirement in most European countries and it is recommended that two should be carried in Spain.
Spain also requires that drivers who need corrective glasses should carry a spare set.
If you do not have number plates with the correct GB badge ('GB' below the circle of small gold stars) you will need a GB sticker. The 'GB' number plate is accepted in EU countries and many other European states such as Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Check if this applies to any other non EU state that you are visiting.
A first aid kit is a legal requirement in Germany.
If you have a load, such as bikes on a rack, that protrudes beyond the rear of the vehicle a square, diagonally striped board must be used to mark it in Italy and Spain.
The list includes:
Passports
Driving licence
Vehicle registration documents
Vehicle insurance documents
MOT certificate (if the vehicle requires one)
Tax disc.
Headlamp converters/beam benders
Fluorescent jackets . (with a CE 471 mark)
Spare bulb set
Two warning triangles (with a CE mark)
GB sticker (needed if your number plate does not have the correct badge ie 'GB' surrounded by small gold stars.See notes above)
In looking for an answer to the question of which way should the stripes point, on the assumption that it is only Italy that insist this sign is used, then I would assume the Fiamma name would be in the correct plane, and the stripes would point down to the left.
However, I did find this on a german site:-
"From 1.January 2005 it's only allowed to use warning signs made of aluminum according to the italian road traffic regualtions."
(Their spelling, not mine)
Interesting comment, as there are plenty being sold in plastic - so can it be true?
______________________________________________________________ Michael. . . . . . When in doubt, try it anyway, and learn from your mistakes!
.......... I did - and I´m now yet another EX Marquis customer!
He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless - DEAD!
Why snow chains.They are only a legal requirment in certain places at certain times ie the alps in winter season..
I would agree that snow chains should be omitted from the list, it is more of a seasonal/regional requirement.
2phil4francoise wrote:
No tax disc needed either as far as I am aware outside of the UK.
Re the tax disc I think cronkle has already supplied the answer to that in his post...
Quote:
In France, amongst other countries, you are required to carry proof of ownership or the owner's permission to use the vehicle and evidence that the vehicle complies with your home country's laws.
To comply with our home countries laws, we have to display a valid tax disc.
Location: Brimington, Chesterfield, Derbyshire and Acharavi, Greece
Status: Offline
Just one thing to watch out for, a Couple of years ago I was traveling through Austria, I was on a Dual Carriage-way just outside Innsbrucke when I saw a Police car following me, He then pulled at the side of me and directed me to pull over, I did and he came to me and said "Where are you from" I started to reply but before I could say a word he took me to the rear of the MH and pointed at the number plate which I had put on when new (I asked for a Euro Badge) the badge was a George Cross, I was a bit unsure what he meant so I just shrugged he said, Where are you from (Again) I said "England", He Said " How am I supposed to know " he was laughing so I thought he is having a joke, So I said " Well you do know cos you are speaking english to me", He Stopped laughing and told me it was not accepted and gave me an on the spot fine of €60.
When I got back here, I went and gave the suppliers a right rollikin and made them give me £40 as it turns out that the George Cross is Not an accepted Euro Badge.
______________________________________________________________ Travel Safe
Les
In looking for an answer to the question of which way should the stripes point, on the assumption that it is only Italy that insist this sign is used, then I would assume the Fiamma name would be in the correct plane, and the stripes would point down to the left.
However, I did find this on a german site:-
"From 1.January 2005 it's only allowed to use warning signs made of aluminum according to the italian road traffic regualtions."
(Their spelling, not mine)
Interesting comment, as there are plenty being sold in plastic - so can it be true?
As I understand it the stripes should slope down towards the 'off-side' depending upon which country the board is used in. I am happy to be corrected but as I understand it if used in this country it should be as shown. What I am not sure of is if the board has any legal significance at all in this country.
I too understood that only the aluminium boards were legal in Italy (they are reflective all over and not just in the corners as well as costing considerably more) but last year I appeared to be the only one in the entire country complying with the law if that was the case. If someone would confirm this more positively one way or the other it would be great.
Supplying me with a usable picture of the aluminium version would be even better
My understanding is that within the EU you are required to have a number plate which has both the registration number and the letters GB surrounded by yellow ( ?) stars.
If your number plate is of the older variety and has registration number only then you must have a GB sticker on the back.
If you are in a non-EU country - eg Switzerland, then all of us, whatever our number plate type, should have a GB sticker on the back.
In practise the Swiss anyway do not stop those who do not have a GB sticker and, according to the Caravan Club, they have said they will not do so. We did not have a GB sticker on Croatia either and were not stopped but it only occurred to me later that we might have been.
As far as I know a red cross or a Cymru sticker is not an alternative !
In looking for an answer to the question of which way should the stripes point, on the assumption that it is only Italy that insist this sign is used, then I would assume the Fiamma name would be in the correct plane, and the stripes would point down to the left.
However, I did find this on a german site:-
"From 1.January 2005 it's only allowed to use warning signs made of aluminum according to the italian road traffic regualtions."
(Their spelling, not mine)
Interesting comment, as there are plenty being sold in plastic - so can it be true?
As I understand it the stripes should slope down towards the 'off-side' depending upon which country the board is used in. I am happy to be corrected but as I understand it if used in this country it should be as shown. What I am not sure of is if the board has any legal significance at all in this country.
I too understood that only the aluminium boards were legal in Italy (they are reflective all over and not just in the corners as well as costing considerably more) but last year I appeared to be the only one in the entire country complying with the law if that was the case. If someone would confirm this more positively one way or the other it would be great.
Supplying me with a usable picture of the aluminium version would be even better
Late edit - Not quite correct if you look on the following link, it should be diagonal stripes rising 'up' to the righthand corner or offside for UK and 'up' to the lefthand corner or offside for Europe......
A couple of photos, best I could find, its called the 'alu-signal'....
Fiamma Alu-Signal....
Alu-signal alongside old plastic version...
Pete
Last edited by peejay on Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:26 am; edited 1 time in total ______________________________________________________________ >Click for Greece Wildcamping Map
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