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Rental cars and required safety equipment

We are renting a car in France. We have read that the French law requires quite a lot of safety equipment. Will these be provided by the rental company? No one will respond to our phone call or email. There are hefty fines if you do not have this equipment if you are checked.

Posted by
32519 posts

They aren't allowed to rent a car to take on the road without it.

I take it that you are renting from a major company, not a fly-by-night operation?

Posted by
2537 posts

All the required safety equipment is contained in a bag, typically left in the trunk. Make sure you have it when you leave the rental office. Other items you might want to check: confirm that the spare tire is indeed there and look in the glove box for a blank constat copy (accident report form). If you stop by the roadside, the wearing of a safety vest, included in the required equipment bag, is mandatory.

Safety equipment requirements vary slightly in different countries so if you are driving into Spain for example, make sure the rental office knows.

Posted by
7453 posts

For what it is worth, It was suggested to me to remove the yellow vest from the bag and put it in the car with you (glove compartment or under your seat); that even exiting the car and going to the trunk to get it technically violated the law.

No opportunity to test the validity, but thought it was worth passing on.

Posted by
12172 posts

The rental agency will provide the safety gear you need. I leased a car once and had to buy a yellow vest because it wasn't equipped with one. I brought it home and put it in my car.

Posted by
473 posts

We rented from Hertz last summer and all that stuff was in the trunk. No need to worry. Have a lovely trip