Road trip kit: what authorities ask drivers to carry

What the people who run these places ask visitors to bring, and why, in their words. Item types, not products: no brand is named, and nothing here has been tested by us.

Places this kit covers (56)

What the places ask

A car emergency kit

For winter travel the CDC lists, among other things: a phone with a portable charger and spare batteries; hats, coats, mittens and blankets; a windshield scraper and shovel; a flashlight; water and snack food; a first aid kit with any medications you need; booster or jumper cables; reflectors or flares; road maps; and tyre chains.

Asked for by: CDC, Preparing for a Winter Storm (page dated 2 December 2025).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Rental cars differ. Ask at the desk what is in the boot before you leave the lot, and fill the gaps from home.

Read 20 October 2026.

A full tank, and your own food and water

Parks Canada asks drivers on the Icefields Parkway to bring their own water and food and to fuel up before leaving Lake Louise or Jasper: there is one gas station on the way, at Saskatchewan River Crossing, in summer only, and none in winter. On the Blue Ridge Parkway the Park Service says rangers do not deliver gas.

Asked for by: Parks Canada, Travelling the Icefields Parkway (date modified 10 July 2026); National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway FAQs (last updated 30 October 2024).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Nothing to buy: a full tank and filled bottles before the empty stretch.

Read 21 October 2026.

Directions that work without a signal

Parks Canada says the Icefields Parkway has no cell coverage and asks drivers to download trip resources in advance. The Park Service says cell phones do not work in many places along the Blue Ridge Parkway and GPS is sometimes unreliable; its official map, milepost referenced, is at the visitor centres.

Asked for by: Parks Canada, Travelling the Icefields Parkway; National Park Service, Blue Ridge Parkway FAQs and Directions (last updated 31 October 2024).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Visitor centres hand out the park map. Download offline maps at the hotel the night before.

Read 21 October 2026.

Tyres for the season, or chains

On the Icefields Parkway, snow tyres marked with a snowflake or “M+S”, or chains, are mandatory from 1 November to 31 March, Parks Canada says, and whenever the road is covered with snow and ice. In Rocky Mountain National Park the Park Service says Colorado’s traction law can apply on Trail Ridge Road: mud-and-snow, mountain-and-snow or all-weather tyres with at least 3/16 inch of tread, or an approved traction device such as chains.

Asked for by: Parks Canada, Travelling the Icefields Parkway; National Park Service, Rocky Mountain: Road Status (last updated 6 October 2026).

Borrow, rent or ask first: With a rental, ask for a car already on the right tyres, and ask whether chains are allowed on it. With your own car, check the tread before you go.

Read 21 October 2026.

A vehicle that fits the road

On Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier, vehicles and combinations longer than 21 feet (including bumpers) or wider than 8 feet (including mirrors) are prohibited between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, and vehicles over 10 feet in height may have difficulty driving west from Logan Pass because of rock overhangs, the Park Service says. Each drive’s entry gives its own limits.

Asked for by: National Park Service, Glacier: Directions, Transportation & Road Conditions (last updated 7 May 2026).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Ask before you hire a camper: give the rental company the road’s limits and ask for the length and width with mirrors.

Read 21 October 2026.

The equipment the country requires (driving abroad)

The UK government’s guide to driving abroad says many countries require a reflective jacket and a warning triangle, and that if you hire a car it is your responsibility to check you have the equipment you need.

Asked for by: GOV.UK, Driving abroad (no update date shown).

Borrow, rent or ask first: Ask the rental company to show you the triangle and the jacket before you drive away.

Read 20 October 2026.

Being a good visitor here

In Glacier, visitors keep at least 100 yards from bears and wolves and 25 yards from other wildlife, the Park Service says (Glacier: Safety, last updated 28 February 2024; read 21 October 2026).
On the Transfăgărășan, Romsilva asks visitors not to feed or approach wild animals, and feeding a bear in the wild is fined. From our entry on The Transfăgărășan, which names its source.
On the Blue Ridge Parkway, sleeping in a vehicle overnight is not allowed, the Park Service says (FAQs; read 21 October 2026).
On Slea Head Drive, the Dingle Peninsula Tourism Alliance asks drivers to go clockwise, use the lay-bys, slow for livestock and give cyclists 1.5 metres. From our entry on The Slea Head Drive, which names its source.

Sources are named in each item, with the date we read them; a few come from our own place entries, which carry their sources. Rules and seasons change; the place’s own entry and the authority’s page have the latest.