Not mandatory in a car

Several items are not required equipment for a car. These are:

• Warning triangle
• Spare bulbs
• Fire extinguisher
• First aid kit
• Safety hammer
• Safety vest

If you are asked during your theory exam at the CBR the question: “You are driving here without a warning triangle. Is that allowed?” Then the answer is: Yes.

The most disagreement arises about the warning triangle: is it mandatory or not? The answer to this is rather strange. You are not required to have a warning triangle in your car. However, you are required to place a warning triangle if you park your car in a place where it cannot be seen in time by approaching drivers. If your car breaks down, you must place the warning triangle in a clearly visible place at a distance of approximately 30 meters in the direction of traffic that you cannot see in time.
Now, there’s another interesting sentence: “Instead of using a warning triangle, you may also leave the flashing hazard lights on.” You may also place a warning triangle and use the flashing hazard lights.

It’s not mandatory to have a set of spare bulbs in your car. However, if a bulb breaks while driving, you must be able to replace it.
Just like with the warning triangle, it’s recommended to have a set of spare bulbs in your car. It’s also not uncommon to be stopped by a police officer because one of your taillights isn’t working. If you have a set of spare bulbs with you and can fix the problem yourself, you will often avoid receiving a fine. If you don’t have spare bulbs with you, you may be fined.

Fire extinguishers and first-aid kits are also not mandatory. However, in the past, a lot of trouble has been prevented by attentive drivers offering help, and being able to do so, because they had a fire extinguisher or first-aid kit with them. If you end up in the water with your car in an accident and you can’t open the doors, the only escape route is through the windows. If the windows won’t open, you’ll have to break them. A safety hammer is a handy tool for this. If you have to break a car window, tap a corner of it as hard as you can.

If you’re broken down on a busy motorway, it’s safer if other road users can see you from a considerable distance. Safety vests are available for this purpose. These are not mandatory in the Netherlands.

All items that are not mandatory cab ne mandatory abroad. It’s always handy to have all non-mandatory items with you in the car.