Compulsary Car Equipment

You can find the the triangles and vests for sale at just about any petrol station.

Thanks, Tom. Would you know how much they cost?

I don't remember, but not very much. Insignificant compared to the cost to fill up the tank.

Thanks again, Tom. FYI, I did some further research on line and came across this site http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/compulsory_equipment.pdf It seems like reflective jacket and warning triangle are also required in France (as well as Spain). Called Hertz again and they said that the car should have all required equipments for France. It was a bit disconcerting though that the customer service rep did not know what these required equipments were aside from the breathanalyzer. Crossing my fingers that they will, indeed, be in the car.

Be sure and obtain an International DL from AAA for your time in SPain. Required by law and on the spot cash fine if you do not have one.

Thanks, Steven. Yes, we just got our IDP from AA yesterday.

Hi Vicki, We got a car that didn't have the reflective vest and simply bought one. Took it home and it's now in the trunk of our car. Can't hurt to have one anyway. We also take it with us when traveling to Europe.

Thanks for the info, Paul.

Both the triangle and the vest is compulsory in France as well. It would be strange if these were not in the rental car. I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. In the case that the rental doesn't come with triangle or vest, you can buy these at a petrol station or at large supermarkets.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I would be blown away if the car hired in France didn't enter service at the beginning of the rental with all compulsory equipment. Without it Hertz can't legally drive on the road to fill up the tank. You can't legally drive on the road to buy the equipment. If I got to the car and was I and the hire guy were examining the car for pre-rental damage and I noticed that a part of the legally required equipment was missing I would either take a (fully complete) different car or require that the hire guy made the car whole. It would be like missing a headlight or 4 wheels on my wagon. BTW - the high vis vests are no good in the boot/trunk. It is illegal to leave the car at a breakdown or accident without having put the vest on before stepping out of the car. The vests need to be in the passenger compartment. The triangle car ride in the way-back. Also required in France is a kit of replacement light bulbs. They can ride in way-back too, although I sometimes keep mine in the glove box.

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I would be blown away if the car hired in France didn't enter service at the beginning of the rental with all compulsory equipment. Without it Hertz can't legally drive on the road to fill up the tank. You can't legally drive on the road to buy the equipment. If I got to the car and was I and the hire guy were examining the car for pre-rental damage and I noticed that a part of the legally required equipment was missing I would either take a (fully complete) different car or require that the hire guy made the car whole. It would be like missing a headlight or 4 wheels on my wagon. BTW - the high vis vests are no good in the boot/trunk. It is illegal to leave the car at a breakdown or accident without having put the vest on before stepping out of the car. The vests need to be in the passenger compartment. The triangle car ride in the way-back. Also required in France is a kit of replacement light bulbs. They can ride in way-back too, although I sometimes keep mine in the glove box.

We did get a car at Munich airport without the reflective vest. I guess it can happen.

But Munich is in Germany, where reflective vests aren't compulsory yet.

Thanks all for the input! I will keep a list of the compulsary equipments (for both France and Spain) and make sure the car we rent will have all of these things in its proper places. Vicki

You can buy reflective vests very cheaply (less than 6 euros) at the first gas station. Reflective mounted triangles start from € 10 price range...