Where to put an emergency QR sticker: car, motorcycle, helmet

Three rules for a good spot

Before arguing about windscreens and fuel tanks, apply three tests. They rule out most bad choices on their own.

• Discoverable: someone approaching the vehicle, or the person on the ground, should notice the sticker without opening or moving anything.
• Scannable: a phone must get within a few centimetres of it, without awkward angles and without removing any part.
• Durable: away from repeated rubbing, gravel spray, wiper blades and the brushes of an automatic wash.

One more rule for anything that moves: the sticker must never interfere with driving, block the driver's field of view, cover safety equipment, or sit on a part it could damage. Follow your local road rules and the vehicle or helmet manufacturer's instructions.

Car placement

For a car, think about a bystander looking in through the glass. They should see the sticker from outside, without opening a door.

• Lower corner of the windscreen, on the same side as your existing permits and discs — well seen, easy to reach with a phone.
• Bottom of a front side window, next to the inspection sticker: discreet, and scannable with the door closed.
• A rear side window for a second sticker, which helps when a front door is crushed or blocked after an impact.
• Inside the fuel flap or on the driver's door frame, as an addition to a visible sticker rather than a replacement.

Keep the centre of the windscreen and the swept area in front of the driver completely clear, and never place anything over an airbag, sensor, camera or seatbelt. On tinted or heated glass, check what the manufacturer allows.

Motorcycle and scooter placement

There is no glass on a bike, so look for a flat, clean, reasonably high surface that can be seen without kneeling on the road.

• Side of the fuel tank or the front fairing, at eye level for someone standing beside the bike.
• Top yoke or the area around the instruments — protected, and visible to anyone leaning over the rider.
• Top box, panniers or backrest, as a second point of discovery.
• Stay away from hot parts — engine, exhaust, radiator — and from surfaces that rub against trousers or luggage straps.

Many riders use two stickers: one on the bike, one on the helmet. A bike can end up metres away from its rider after a fall; the helmet stays with the person.

Helmet placement

For a rider or a cyclist the helmet is the most useful location, because it travels with the person. It is also the one that needs the most care.

• On the outer shell, at the back or low on one side, where anyone leaning over the casualty will see it.
• A flat, smooth panel holds far better than an edge or a strongly curved area.
• Never place anything on the visor, on the latch mechanism of a modular chin bar, or over the vents.
• Do not use solvents, extra glue or abrasives — chemicals can weaken a shell. Follow the helmet manufacturer's instructions.

The same reasoning applies to a cycling helmet, a sports bag, a hydration pack or a bicycle frame: put the sticker where somebody helping the person will look.

Outside or inside the vehicle?

Outside, or visible through glass. A sticker hidden in the glovebox will not be found by a passer-by, and a passer-by is exactly who this is for.

The usual worry is privacy: does a visible sticker mean anyone can read your medical file? No. The public page shows only the fields you chose to publish, and you can change or remove them at any time from your dashboard. Plenty of people publish nothing more than a blood type, one allergy and two phone numbers.

What to avoid

• The driver's field of view and the area cleared by the wipers.
• Airbags, sensors, cameras, seatbelts and any safety component.
• Dirty, oily, wet, frosted or freshly polished surfaces — the adhesive will not hold.
• Sills, wheel arches and bumpers, which take the worst of the gravel and mud.
• A spot that dirt, a bike rack, a cover or another sticker will eventually hide.
• Fresh paint or a protective film that has not fully cured.

Applying it properly

• Clean and degrease the surface, then let it dry completely.
• Apply in mild, dry conditions; cold and damp stop the adhesive from bonding.
• Position it without pressing, check the alignment, then press from the centre outwards to push out air.
• Give the adhesive several hours to settle before washing.

Test your placement: the checklist

An untested sticker is an assumption. Five minutes settle it, and the test is worth repeating twice a year.

• Scan it with a phone camera, with no special app.
• Repeat with a phone that is not yours, without unlocking anything first.
• Try it in direct sunlight, then in shade, then at night with the phone's torch.
• Step back: it should scan from a normal distance, not only with the lens touching it.
• Confirm the page opens and shows what you expect it to show.
• Ask someone whether they would have noticed the sticker without being told it was there.
• If the sticker also has an NFC chip, test tapping a compatible phone against it.

If the code becomes faded, scratched or lifted, replace it — an unreadable code is the same as no sticker. In your dashboard you can activate a new sticker on the same profile and then deactivate the old one.