# Rear Marking Panels for Motorhomes



## fitzgill (Dec 23, 2008)

Hi all,

We are spending 3 weeks in Europe travelling through France, Belguim, Germany, Switzerland and France.

Is there a legal requirement to show a ''marker-panel'' (red and white stripes) on the rear of the vehicle when carrying a rear mounted cycle rack, or will a warning triangle do!

I have seen many with and without.

I would like to keep myself legal, cos if ''it's'' gonna happen it will happen to me.

Many Thanks


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Your experience is the same as ours.
We also understood that in Italy the panel must be on Aluminium but we found a Garage in Italy selling plastic ones.

Safariboy

( who is having trouble logging in -a large free ouzo with supper at the campsite restaurant did not help- G)


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## stephenpug (Sep 18, 2008)

do you also need one on a trailer


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

As long as the lights protrude out further that anything within or on the trailer, then you will not need any extra markings on it.


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## JohnsCrossMotorHomes (Jul 21, 2007)

fitzgill said:


> Hi all,
> 
> We are spending 3 weeks in Europe travelling through France, Belguim, Germany, Switzerland and France.
> 
> ...


Plastic ones OK for all EU countries except (Italy) at £6-50

Metal compulsory for Italy (reflective) at £25

Peter


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## grumpyman (Sep 24, 2006)

Does anyone know the final answer not wishing to be synical all the people who sell the alluminium boards say you must have in Italy and they cost around 5 times the price of the other. Yet when I attempt to find the law referring to this cannot find anything.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

I always put one on when the bikes are on the rack.
It warns following drivers that you have an overhanging load.

Dave p


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## cronkle (May 1, 2005)

grumpyman said:


> Does anyone know the final answer not wishing to be synical all the people who sell the alluminium boards say you must have in Italy and they cost around 5 times the price of the other. Yet when I attempt to find the law referring to this cannot find anything.


Sorry grumpyman but I did have a link to the legal bit that you are after but I have lost it in computer changeovers.

The law related to which bits had to be reflective rather than the material i.e. it had to be reflective all over rather than in circles in the corners.

So I bought the legal one, went to Italy, and was the only person driving around with the real deal on the back. Everybody else had the non-legal type. I'm told it's an Italian thing.


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## bognormike (May 10, 2005)

grumpyman said:


> Does anyone know the final answer not wishing to be synical all the people who sell the alluminium boards say you must have in Italy and they cost around 5 times the price of the other. Yet when I attempt to find the law referring to this cannot find anything.


I've used the plastic one in Italy, no problems; but have found the details in the CC guide (in the Italy section - book2 p412) which states an ALUMINIUM panel, while the section for Spain says a panel (material not specified). I presume the CC have dug out the respective pieces of legislation to give this detail.


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

The red stripes have to be reflective.

you dont see many mhers riding around in the dark anyway.

dave p


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## Tobysmumndad (Nov 12, 2007)

I was also informed by a usually knowledgeable someone that the stripes should slope towards the overtaking side i.e. top right to bottom left on the continent.

:wink:


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Driving in Italy

See under 'Other useful information'.

Nothing about aluminium, plastic, carbon fibre or gold plated. :wink:


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## grumpyman (Sep 24, 2006)

Spacerunner said:


> Driving in Italy
> 
> See under 'Other useful information'.
> 
> Nothing about aluminium, plastic, carbon fibre or gold plated. :wink:


And from the AA, Other rules/requirements in Italy and San Marino:
Any vehicle with an overhanging load (e.g. carrying bicycle at rear) must display a fully reflectorised square panel 50cm x 50cm which is red and white diagonally striped, a fine may be imposed if the sign is not displayed. This also applies to vehicles such as cars/caravans carrying bicycles at the rear


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

Hi

I'm fairly sure the stripes on my Fiamma board are not reflective.

Fine for the EU may be true, but only required in Spain and Italy was my understanding and seems to be the consensus here?

Does anyone know how far something has to protrude before one is required? My spare tyre sits on a protruding rear bumper with lights built in, the tyre protrudes maybe 100mm and I have a board because of that. It would be nice to know if I really need one though!


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I am sure that you should have a reflective board on the rear of your load if you have cycles or similar that protrude beyond the rear of your vehicle in certain countries.

The contentious bit is whether the plastic Fiamma board is legal in Italy. Our understanding, after asking at an Italian motorhome dealers, was that the board must be reflective. We had a plastic board with non-reflecting stripes but 4 circular reflectors, one at each corner. We had used it for many years, never been questionned and had seen many straightforward boards with no reflectors at all.

When the board became tatty we replaced it with the aluminium one. With all due respect to the Italian police, we were not convinced that, one day, as we were passing, they might just decide to have a purge on motorhomers who had not got the all-singing board with reflective stripes, not just reflective roundels. I'd rather pay the extra £15 and be convinced I'm legal than be on the wrong end of a semantic argument with an Italian policeman.

G


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## Shell181 (Apr 11, 2010)

Does anyone know if this is the law in France, we had a cycle rack fitted to the back of our motorhome but I wasn't aware we had to have something like this, at the moment it would only be France that would concern us if anyone knows please :?


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## cronkle (May 1, 2005)

Shell181 said:


> Does anyone know if this is the law in France, we had a cycle rack fitted to the back of our motorhome but I wasn't aware we had to have something like this, at the moment it would only be France that would concern us if anyone knows please :?


Not a legal requirement in France. A lot of us use them as good practice.

M


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## Shell181 (Apr 11, 2010)

Thanks 'Cronkle' just not something we had thought about but we will get one


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