A high visibility vest, a warning triangle and a first aid kit cover most of a European trip. The exceptions are what cost money. Germany wants a separate warning lamp once you are over 3.5 tonnes, Spain switched to a connected beacon on January 1, 2026, and in France, Austria and Italy carrying the vest is not the requirement: wearing it before you step out of the vehicle is.

What each authority actually requires

Germany. Paragraph 53a(2) of the StVZO requires a warning triangle in passenger cars and other motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes maximum permissible weight, and above that “ein Warndreieck und getrennt davon eine Warnleuchte”, a triangle and, separately from it, a warning lamp. That is the line heavy motorhomes trip over. The same paragraph requires a vest in passenger cars, trucks, tractor units and buses. First aid material sits in paragraph 35h, to DIN 13164, and has to be in a container that protects the contents from dust, damp, fuel and lubricants. In practice: keep it inside, not loose in the rear garage next to the spare fuel can. (gesetze-im-internet.de, checked August 14, 2026)

France. Article R233-1 of the Code de la route lists the triangle de présignalisation and the gilet de haute visibilité among the equipment you must have on board. Article R416-19 says where the vest goes: “En circulation, le conducteur doit disposer de ce gilet à portée de main.” Within reach, in the cab, because you put it on before you open the door at the roadside. Leave the éthylotest at home. Article 8 of décret n° 2020-605 of May 18, 2020 deleted that obligation. (legifrance.gouv.fr, checked August 14, 2026)

Austria. Multi-track vehicles must carry a Pannendreieck and reflective high visibility clothing to ÖNORM EN 471 or ÖNORM EN ISO 20471, and you have to put the clothing on before you leave the vehicle. A Verbandzeug, first aid material suitable for treating wounds, is required in every vehicle and must be packed dust-tight. (oesterreich.gv.at, checked August 14, 2026)

Italy. Article 162 of the Codice della Strada requires the triangolo mobile di pericolo, the retroreflective triangle, when a vehicle stops outside a built-up area, and prohibits the driver from getting out and walking on the road without a giubbotto o bretelle retroriflettenti, a vest or reflective braces. The fine runs from 42 to 173 euros. (aci.gov.it, checked August 14, 2026)

Spain. Since January 1, 2026 the connected V-16 beacon is, per the DGT, the only legal way to signal an immobilized vehicle, replacing triangles. Foreign plates are the exception: the DGT’s instruction on circulación internacional states that vehicles registered abroad comply when they use triangles. Do not buy the device just because your route crosses Spain. (dgt.es, checked August 14, 2026)

Taking a right-hand-drive vehicle over. GOV.UK’s driving abroad guidance lists headlight converter stickers, a UK sticker and emission permits for some cities among the extra equipment you may need. Buy the deflectors before you travel; the ferry port shop is the worst price on offer. (gov.uk, checked August 14, 2026)

Every other country on your route is its own national authority’s business. France and Germany get more depth, fine amounts and winter tire dates included, in driving rules.

The half of the list nobody packs

The mandatory kit costs about twenty euros and then sits in a locker for years. The service kit decides whether a travel day works.

  • Coins and jetons. A jeton is the token that starts a French borne, and you buy it somewhere else in town, in business hours. Anor sells its jetons at the syndicat d’initiative, a Carrefour Contact and a bar-tabac. They are not interchangeable between communes. Germany runs on coins: the columns at the Rothsee take 2 euro, 1 euro and 50 cent pieces. Carry a stock of both.
  • Your own fresh water hose, color-coded, that never touches the waste equipment. What goes in which hole is in service points.
  • Disposable gloves and a dedicated brush for the cassette, stored away from everything else.
  • A bank card is not a substitute for cash. Older municipal terminals do not always read foreign cards, and behind a barrier that is a problem at both ends of the stay.
  • More water than you think in winter. Operators drain the pipework so it cannot freeze: the Rothsee station is closed during the frost period, and the commune of Aube in the Orne shuts its water borne from December 1 to March 1.

The sign and the officer win

Rules change faster than websites do, and the officer at the roadside check has not read this page. The sign on the borne and the current text of the statute beat anything here. What the list saves you is looking all that up while parked on the hard shoulder.

Sources

  1. StVZO Paragraph 53a: Warndreieck, Warnleuchte, Warnblinkanlage, Warnweste, Gesetze im Internet (Germany)
  2. StVZO Paragraph 35h: Erste-Hilfe-Material in Kraftfahrzeugen, Gesetze im Internet (Germany)
  3. Article R416-19, Code de la route, Légifrance (France)
  4. Décret n° 2020-605 du 18 mai 2020 portant diverses dispositions en matière de sécurité routière, Légifrance (France)
  5. Warnausstattung, oesterreich.gv.at (Austria)
  6. Verbandzeug, oesterreich.gv.at (Austria)
  7. Articolo 162, Codice della Strada (Segnalazione di veicolo fermo), ACI (Italy)
  8. Dispositivos de preseñalización V16, Dirección General de Tráfico (Spain)
  9. Instrucción sobre los usos de la señal V-16 en circulación internacional, Dirección General de Tráfico (Spain)
  10. Driving abroad, GOV.UK (United Kingdom)

When a source is not in English, follow the link for the official wording.