When driving in Belgium, what equipment is mandatory to have in a car registered in another country?

When driving in Belgium, what equipment is mandatory to have in a car registered in another country? - Aerial view of empty agricultural field and vehicles with trailers at summer day

Belgian residents are required to have the following equipment in their car :

  • Fire extinguisher
  • First aid kit
  • Warning triangle
  • Safety vest

I come from a country (France) where only the last 2 are mandatory.

I plan to drive my car (registered in France) in Belgium next month, and I came upon 2 contradictory requirements for visitors : one, in French, stating that I have to have all 4 equipments (Driving guides in Europe), another one (Driving in Belgium), stating that the fire extinguisher and the first aid kit are mandatory only for cars registered in Belgium.

Who do I believe ?



Best Answer

They are not mandatory for foreign cars.
My parents live in Belgium and I live just across the border in the Netherlands.
I visit my parents almost daily, by car, so I had reason to check this myself.

I checked the Belgian traffic code:
This indicates clearly that the extinguisher and the first-aid kit are considered to be "part of the vehicle" and therefore only apply to vehicles that have a Belgian registration. (They must have the kit in order to be considered road-legal.) This is not enforceable on foreign cars: Because of international traffic regulations Belgium is required to allow road-legal cars from other nations on their roads as long as they are reasonably safe to drive. The presence (or absence) of an add-on not essential to the operation of the car (like a first-aid kit) can't be part of any restriction that prohibits foreign cars on Belgian roads.
The triangular sign and the vest are mandatory to use in case of an accident, car-trouble or other dangerous situation. If you don't have them in the car you are not in trouble, unless you get in a situation where you are required to actually use them.
If you don't have a vest and need to leave the car on the middle lane of a 3-lane motorway the policy-officer that shows up, will fine you for not having one. (Happened to my cousin when his car got in a fender-bender on the Brussels ring-road.)

I also asked my parents neighbor who is a Belgian police officer:
He confirmed everything above too. He also mentioned that the fire-extinguisher needs to be a certified model and not beyond its expiration date either.
This is effectively never checked, unless the police officer is really looking for a reason to hassle you.
(He hazarded a guess that at least 90% of Belgians drive around with an expired, or empty, extinguisher. The thing is only in the car to satisfy a cursory glance of the police.)




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When driving in Belgium What must you carry in your car?

In addition to required documents, drivers in Belgium are required by law to carry the following items: Reflective jackets (must be worn if you're involved in a breakdown or an accident, or alongside a road where stopping or parking is prohibited) Warning triangle (compulsory in every vehicle with four wheels or more)

What two safety items must by law be carried in your car Europe?

Required equipment for driving in Europe
  • Reflective jackets (there must be one for each passenger and be kept within the cabin of the car)
  • Warning triangle (compulsory in most countries)
  • Headlamp beam deflectors (depending on your car, you'll either need deflector stickers or have to adjust the beam manually)


What do I need to carry in my car when driving in Europe?

You need to carry your UK driving licence with you. You do not need an international driving permit ( IDP ) to visit and drive in the EU , Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein. You might need an IDP to drive in some EU countries and Norway if you have: a paper driving licence.

What equipment is required for vehicles to be driven?

Your vehicle is equipped with headlights, taillights, brake lights, daytime running lights, turn signals, license plate lights, reflectors, and parking lights. Every vehicle must have two headlights \u2014 one on each side on the front \u2014 and a beam indicator showing when the high headlight beam is on.



Driving To Europe Post Brexit: What You Need To Know




More answers regarding when driving in Belgium, what equipment is mandatory to have in a car registered in another country?

Answer 2

The Dutch and British automobile clubs both suggest that fire extinguishers and first-aid kits are only compulsory for cars registered locally as do the ACL from Luxembourg. Not necessarily authoritative but I think they would know.

For some reason, the “service public fédéral mobilité” (that's the name of the federal ministry for transport) has nothing to say about this and only mentions safety vests, which is not particularly helpful…

It seems that the basis for all these rules is the règlement technique des véhicules automobiles (in particular articles 70 and 71). Article 2 provides that

Sont soumis aux prescriptions du présent règlement général, les véhicules automobiles circulant sous couvert d'une plaque d'immatriculation belge, ainsi que les remorques belges tirées par eux.

This would seem to be authoritative and to confirm that foreign-registered cars are exempt from all these requirements (but it's always dangerous to try to interpret a legal text when you know nothing about the legal system…).

A first-aid kit is quite cheap and recommended or mandatory in many places so you could probably consider getting one even if a fire extinguisher seems too much of a hassle.

Finally, and keeping in mind that such anecdotes are not worth much, I have had many occasions to drive in Belgium and have never experienced or witnessed a police check on the road so I would not worry too much about it.

Answer 3

Although the Belgian road code does mention triangle, estinguisher, first-aid kit and high-visibility jacket (see articles 70-70bis-71 here), according to the Bison Fute governmental website, you must have:

  • 1x Triangle
  • 1x high-visibility vest per passenger
  • 1x Fire extinguisher

Quoting from the website:

Equipement obligatoire à bord du véhicule

  • 1 triangle de signalisation
  • 1 gilet par occupant du véhicule
  • 1 extincteur

This seems to agree with this other French website on the topic. Nowhere does either website mention a first-aid kit.

To be extra sure I would follow the advice on the Bison Fute website, and I would ask the first police officer you meet:

Ces informations sont données à titre indicatif et ne sont pas exhaustives. Il est conseillé de s’informer au passage à la frontière sur les autres réglementations en vigueur.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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