please empty your brain below

According to the bnma.org link you've included above the pictures of the green bands, they've been permitted since 8th December 2020.

dg writes: updated, thanks.
Saw a few Teslas etc. last summer in the Netherlands and I think Hungary of all places with 100% green plates.

They really stand out, assume they're to promote sales of EVs.
I have seen green bands with the Union Jack and UK lettering in both white or a very hard to see dark blue. Some older vehicles (pre 2020) have been fitted with the new plates and buses and Royal Mail vans are also receiving them.
This is the sort of information I'd never seek out, and yet it is totally fascinating and I'm happy to have learned something new. This is why your blog is so good! Will give numberplates a second glance next time I go for a stroll.
Cynically, the change from GB to UK could be to make people cover up the EU flags on their number plates…
Thank you for the welcome info about the green tags - have been meaning to look it up for some time.
When we rejoin the EU it will be good to see the stars again
It’s the Flag Of Europe, not the EU symbol, and it’s applicable to organisations outside the EU that the UK is still a member of.

I’ve seen a few combinations of green and the UK flag around, and it’s exactly as ghastly as you’d imagine.
The old identifiers can remain on the plate provided a UK oval sticker is also displayed.
On the internet you can buy self adhesive blue bands with UK lettering to cover up the old Euro-Band. A must for every Brexiteer.
I thought that the UK had to use the GB identifier as Ukraine used UK?

dg writes: UA
Would you agree that those displaying the dragon or saltire have a similar mindset to the St George-users, just with different roots? (Rhetorical Q)
Displaying GB was indeed legal long before the referendum, as per the amendments to the Road Vehicles (display of registration marks) regulations in 2009(?)

... although the regulations don't seem to require that the sub national flag matches the country code, if you're feeling contrary.

I always had euro plates on my car, because it was a no cost option, and I might have used that feature one day
It will be interesting to see how much, if at all, the use of glue rather than screws to fix on the numberplates, will make a difference to the amount of decoration.
The older vehicles displaying a flag and GB could have had their plates redone. I have a vehicle with 19 plates which now has 13 plates due to a personalised reg. But the plates were made in 2021.

I did look into whether an EU flag + UK was acceptable but it seemed marginal at best.
It looks like entirely green number plates for EVs was the original plan in the UK too.
I always assumed the change was to encourage sticker makers to vote Brexit.
One of the reasons plates which included an identifier became popular was that it meant not having to put a separate sticker on the vehicle if you were meaning to travel abroad (ie. mainland Europe).

Sometimes plates need to be replaced if they've become damaged or illegible (eg. if moisture and dirt have got behind the perspex). Replacements will typically be whatever is popular or available at the time, and not necessarily the same as the old ones.
Always hated seeing cars older than 2001 sporting post-2001 numberplates with the 50mm-wide characters; In wonder whether they've been stolen. Also an automatic fail for preserved vehicles.
I have seen several cars with the flag of Europe on the numberplate with SCO (for Scotland) underneath. Which always struck me being as completely bonkers. The Europlate design is supposed to stop you needing a car sticker, but by putting the Flag of Europe and SCO on it, you've meant you need a sticker! Still, I'm sure some obscure point was made by someone...

I've also noticed a couple of numberplates where the car manufacturer logo featured in the strip - Mercedes being one example. No idea what the point of that is either.
Hmm, in the grander scheme of Things That Need To Be Done, faffing about over what identifier to show on a vehicle just seems like trying to make it look as if they are on top of things!

Just peered out the window at our car - a 2020 EV with no identifier at all - green or otherwise. But then it's barely been out of the driveway/local vicinity, never mind the country, for almost 2 years! An overnighter to North Wales doesn't count!
Anyone else squinting into the reflections to try and get a glimpse of our elusive leader?
Changing the international vehicle designation from GB to UK is pointless political posturing of the worst kind.

The GB designation has always been the ISO 3166 code for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It only excludes the latter in the minds of insufferable pedants and populist opportunists.

The UK designation is unilateral and unofficial as far as most international bodies are concerned, the main exception being ICANN, who were forced to accept the .uk domain suffix simply because it was adopted before anyone thought about internet standards. The use of UK as an identifier has also been long challenged by another country, Ukraine.

All in all, what a waste of everything this is. And it's British motorists who end up footing the bill.
Back in the 1990s there was a bit of rivalry between supporters of different country codes within government bodies. Though most units did use .gov.uk, as they still do, a few -- mainly in defence agencies -- insisted on .hmg.gb -- hmg for HM government. Fortunately that dropped out of use. Indeed, despite the Daily Mail's recent rants, the style within Whitehall is UK government, in preference to HM government.
Just curious to know if you have strayed north to Chingford recently. The Allen Briggs garage is a Hyundai dealer. I have no idea if they have any other branches though.

Thanks for another year of good reads.
My old car had a number plate sticker featuring a Pasty with the Cornish flag (white cross on black ground).

Yes, it was unofficial and possibly illegal, but I'm pleased to report that I was never stopped by Cornish policemen.
A few weeks ago a car passed me on the M1 with a saltire on its number plate which didn't look quite right.
Later on I caught up with that car and could see that it was a Jamaican saltire. It was a UK plate, the registration being "reserved for select issue" from the Manchester office.










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