Motorhome Europe, Staying Legal

We’re now in our 13th month on the road (since updated after 23 months), and in our umpteenth country. We suspect we’ve accidentally broken various laws, but have so far not found ourselves of interest (much) to local law enforcers.

Staying on the right side of the law is easier in some places than others. Being homosexual in Morocco will, officially, make your very existence illegal. Taking an encrypted laptop into France is not allowed. Not having a muzzle for your dog on the Budapest underground is an infraction, although no one cared. Having a Sat Nav with speed camera points of interest in Germany can lead to trouble.

The basic stuff we’ve done to stay legal seems to have worked though, so I’ll list it out below. As we’re not lawyers, please just treat this as hints only, the AA website is very useful for more formal advice. We don’t carry a second vehicle (moped, motorbike, quad bike) nor do we tow a trailer or second vehicle, so can’t help with these.

Insurance; you’ll need at least 3rd party cover in any country you visit. UK policies should provide cover for EU members, plus a few others like Norway, Switzerland and Croatia. Some companies will also cover additional countries (shop around, this can save big bucks), issuing a ‘green card’ document to show at the border. Our company refused to cover Morocco or Bosnia, we bought 3rd party official cover at the borders to these countries.

The Van: officially, your van will have to meet UK legal requirements while you are of the country. That means at least a valid MOT, valid road tax, legal tread on tyres, and to be within its weight limit. As we have an old van, and will travel more than the maximum 13 months possible with a single MOT test, we have to return to the UK for a test (we know of folks who don’t go back, but as I understand it this is not legal).

Your Driving License: As I understand it, you must have a valid license which enables you to drive your vehicle in the country it is registered in. Having a photo card license is suggested by some websites, rather than the old paper-only ones. It seems that this is to make life easier for you (since the cards are EU-standard so the authorities recognize them easier) rather than a mandatory requirement. We’ve not been stopped by the police (except for security checks in North Africa, where only passports and the V5 were inspected), and no-one’s wanted to see our licenses, so we’re not sure just how much of a problem a paper-only license might be.

Restrictions on Cities: Germany has the concept of the ‘Umweltzone’ in many cities. They’re environment zones and you need a sticker showing the right colour for that particular city to prove your vehicle is clean enough to enter. We have no such sticker as Dave is old, so avoid them. The zone is marked with obvious signs alongside the road, and appears to be enforced manually, rather than with cameras snapping number places. Italy on the other hand makes good use of cameras to enforce the ZTL zones in its towns and cities. These are only accessible by residents, delivery drivers etc. How likely it is either Germany or Italy will attempt to track you down and chase up the fine, we don’t know.

Speeding: Nowhere we’ve been has the proliferation of fixed and mobile speed cameras of the UK. We have hardly seen any outside of Italy. If you do get flashed by a mobile camera, European police all appear armed to the teeth and to carry credit card machines, kerching. As for fixed cameras, we get varying reports on whether foreign authorities are able to/actually do make an effort to get you to pay up. Some countries can take up to a year to issue the fine. We’ve been through one camera too fast so far, that we know of, but have seen no sign of a fine at our home address in the UK (this was over a year ago now).

Meeting Local Law: each country has its own laws, check the AA site for your countries. As we’re visiting so many, we have a kind of catch-all kit we carry. It includes two high vis vests, spare bulbs, two warning triangles (we only need one), a fire extinguisher, a breathalyser (for France, although the latest word is no fine can be legally issued, even if you don’t have one, weird but true) and a first aid kit (which we think isn’t actually enough to meet German law as it has no silver blanket). We also understand some countries outlaw Sat Nav devices with built-in databases of speed cameras, but can’t find way to turn the feature off on ours.

Cold weather: we’ve only hit snow three times, and never with it on the road. Depending on where you go, winter tyres and chains might be needed. Chains are cheap, winter tyres are not. We’ve avoided regions likely to need either, so have summer tyres and no chains.

Sleeping: this is the only area where we’ve brushed with the law, being asked to move on in Southern Spain. In some cases (Spain and Inland Croatia), police have given us permission to park, even directing us to a spot. We didn’t risk free camping in coastal Croatia as we’re sure that we’d be told to move. The best way to check if free camping is OK in a particular region, in a particular season, seems to be to see what other motorhomes do, check the write-up for the country in the ACSI camping book, ask fellow motorhomers (ideally ones from that country) and look for advice on forums (beware the fear-mongers). Ju also checks with tourist information offices who are usually helpful.

Tolls: some countries charge for motorways, tunnels and even single carriageway ‘fast roads’. In some you pay with cash or credit card. Others sell a vignette (a sticker) which you stick to your windscreen for the few days it covers. Others have a registration system where you give your registration when you pay and cameras above the lanes check your legality. Some have a combination of these, plus electronic boxes to go on your dashboard! Portugal has been the worst place for us, their system is new and hard to work out. We have no idea what, if anything, happens in practice if you use a toll without payment, we always pay (except for a few km in Hungary, oops).

Other stuff: our lights are UK standard, so shine into oncoming traffic when driving on the right. We’ve used the ‘official’ bits of plastic to block this, since finding electrical insulation tape is as good and far cheaper. In some countries your dipped headlights need to be on in the day, sometimes just outside towns or certain periods of the year, or just in tunnels. We have a GB sticker on the back, lots of folks are still confused about where we’re from though. A LPG sticker adorns the door for the gas, but we don’t think it’s needed by law. We have no speed stickers on the back (we read Bosnia required them but the border guards said we didn’t).

Dog Law: Charlie has an up to date EU Pet Passport, and his other inoculations are up to date. So far, only Hungarian border control has asked to see it, though they got distracted by his photo, forgetting to scan his chip. UK customs always check the document and chip thoroughly and we were advised Spanish customs carry out spot checks on inbound traffic from Morocco. As for the ‘no dogs on the beach’ signs, we do as locals do, and clean up behind him everywhere (poo bags sometimes tied to the bike rack as we seek out a bin).

Import and Export: outside the Schengen zone, you’re often restricted on what you can take in and out. In Morocco, the van could go in, but had to leave with us, even if damaged. Entering Hungary from Croatia, we were asked about cigarettes and alcohol, although the check was cursory. Alcohol import limitations exist for Morocco, but no check was made. We’ve been lucky with this one, worth researching before you enter the country, so you at least understand the risk.

In certain cases we take our chances with the law. Charlie’s not physically restrained in the van, so he can move around and get comfortable and easily drink, we think this is illegal in Spain. Our laptop is encrypted, making the data on it pretty much inaccessible to thieves, and also making it illegal in France. Our light bulb collection might not be the exact set we need?

Anyway, I think that’s the lot, happy to answer any questions as best I can (and get your advice)!

Cheers, Jay