Travelling to Holland, do I need anything?

veryoldbear

mcpitman wrote: »

Thanks, spacesaver and "foam in a can".

Are there different rules for the EU with regards to spare wheels?

No, but it's a PITA if you have to buy a new tyre because you get a puncture and you are trundling around slowly on a space-saver. Some tyre establishments will only sell you tyres in pairs.

mcpitman

veryoldbear wrote: »

No, but it's a PITA if you have to buy a new tyre because you get a puncture and you are trundling around slowly on a space-saver. Some tyre establishments will only sell you tyres in pairs.

Thanks for the heads up, something to consider....

bod1467

mcpitman wrote: »

Thanks, spacesaver and "foam in a can".

You could do worse than get one of these ... I have one and have had need to use it; the repair is pretty much permanent. (I repaired a 2-week old tyre in June 2012 - the same tyre is still on my car some 32k miles later and hasn't lost pressure at all).

http://www.tirerepairkit.com/whichkit.htm

loskie

Photocopies of your docs, breakdown cover. Makesure your insurance covers foreign travel (obvious but don't assume). Beam bender things. Cash for toll roads.
set sat nav to KMPH instead of MPH.
not sure you still need breath test kit in france but you will need high viz(for each occupant) and spare bulb kit.
Enjoy it and concentrate especially if tired, cahtting to passengers, at T junctions, roundabouts, getting out in the car first thing in the morning and even on return to Uk it is easy to momentarily pull onto the wrong side of the road especially in a RHD car far different than hiring a LHD car,.

Richard53

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

High Viz vest or jacket (in emergencies).

And in France, at least, these should be inside the car and accessible, not tucked away in the boot.

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

Don't for get your breath test kit for France.

I bought a couple of these** when it was likely that they would be required, and I still keep them in the car. I know that they still haven't decided if and how to implement the new rules, but I would rather have them to show to a village gendarme in deepest rural France than to argue the legal case with a possibly grumpy non-English speaker.


In Holland, if you are driving off the motorway network, be very careful to give way to bicycles, far more than you would imagine if you drive in the UK. I had a cycling holiday there some years ago, and I was astounded at how cars would give me priority. Most of the trip was on their excellent network of off-road tracks, but we occasionally crossed major roads. As long as it was a proper crossing place, all cars would stop if you were waiting to cross, even on a main road. It was quite unnerving at first.


** I can't remember where I saw it, but some were advising to carry two, on the basis that if you tested yourself before driving and 'passed', you would then be driving without the required breath kit (having used it) and would be breaking the law.