hi.
in order to drive through some euopean countries, naturally, one requires to carry certain items:
- driving license. some countries require international driving license.
- proof of insurance (green card)
- proof of ID
- proof of ownership
- some require country sticker at the back of the car
there are also requirements to carry certain items on board:
- warning triangle. (some require two)
- reflective jacket for each passenger.
- some require first-aid kit
- some require fire extinguisher.
- some require spare bulbs.
are all these items required for all cars, or cars registered in that country?
for example, assuming RAC website is up-to-date, croatia says, bulbs are required if the car does not have xenon or LED lights, which makes sense. slovenia says it is required for cars registered to that country. does anyone know if one does require it for a car (with xenon/LED lights) that is registered in switzerland to drive through these countries? what about fire extinguisher?
cheers.
There has always been some confusion on some of these points, notably additional national requirements like fire extinguishers and bulbs, which in theory, according to the
Vienna convention , need only conform with the rules of the country in which it's registered.
Whether local police forces know this is another matter, but I certainly never bothered with such things, and some of them are still lacking in some countries that I regularly drive in.
Of the things you listed, I don't think any Euro countries now ask for international driving permit (only Spain that I know of used to even well into the EU era), nor do you need a green card, as your Swiss reg. document is sufficient proof of insurance.
So unless you're going somewhere that the police are known to be extortionists I wouldn't bother getting any of extras specifically to try and conform with foreign rules, although of course many of them are required in CH and/or make clear sense to have on board anyway.
Have a look at the TCS website.
This page is in FR but you can change it into DE/IT if you wish. No EN available so you will have to use Google. Look specifically at the 1st, 4th and 5th topics.
https://www.tcs.ch/fr/camping-voyage...ement-voiture/
I chuck a rucksack in the boot with those things.
It's also got a few other non-mandatory bits, like;
- power bank with phone connectors
- water
- torch
- ice scraper
- couple of foil blankets
- few bars of chocolate / biscuits
- Life hammer (in the glovebox)
- leatherman
Probably other stuff I can't think of right now.
I used to keep the hi-vis jackets on the backs of the headrest on my cross country trips to Poland. Helpful not to give local plod reason to pull over the foreign registered car.
I know it sounds like a lot, it fits comfortably in a regular size rucksack and goes on top of anything else in the boot, so it's accessible in a crisis.
Spare glasses or contact lens for driver, if driving with licence indicating vision correction
The one thing you can't get at the next garage...