White to the rear!

[cooperlola]

Is it my imagination or are newly-registered cars in France suddenly being supplied with white rear number plates?  What happened? SD?

[mint]

My UK car is newly registered in France and it indeed has a white rear number plate.  In fact, when the plates were rivetted on, the garage man put one blue and one yellow rivet on the front plate and one blue and one white rivet on the back plate so that they look "jolies"!

[Bugsy]

I've seen them too. I know newly registered 50cc put-puts have a white rear number plate but cars ??

Mrs BB said it was probably dislexic farmers fitting their own plates.............................................. (no offence intended towards dislexic people)

[BJSLIV]

The rules were changed earlier this year, so white at the rear is now legal.

http://www.admi.net/jo/20070510/EQUS0752831A.html

[cooperlola]

Aha, so it's either or.  Thanks BJSLIV. I wasn't going mad(der) after all.

[Bugsy]

Don't you find that kinda scary.

Its dark and you pick up a white number plate in your headlights and it's on your side of the road.............[8-)]

[cooperlola]

To be fair, I guess you'd notice the lights before the plates, Bugs.

[Will]

Are these the new-style, number-stays-with-the-vehicle, ones, or still the old-style issued accordng to département numbers?

The car Mrs Will took delivery of just over two weeks ago has a '50' plate, with a yellow one to the rear, so this must be something pretty recent.

Edit - just looked at BJ's link in a bit more detail, and it seems, like CL says, as if there is a choice now between yellow or white. I don't remember being asked what colour we wanted (would have chosen yellow, I am sure, but it would have been nice to have the choice). Pity the law didn't do away with the need for front plates, as it's one of those Italian jobbies with nowhere to put a full-size front plate so it looks like an afterthought.

 

[Sunday Driver]

[:D][:D][:D]

What if Bugbear is wondering which side to drive around a parked car in the dark...

That said, Germany and Holland have had identical front and rear coloured plates for years....

.

[Bugsy]

[quote user="cooperlola"]

To be fair, I guess you'd notice the lights before the plates, Bugs.

[/quote]

Assuming they have lights Deb......[:D][:D]

[cooperlola]

OK, OK, but if your own headlights are on they will pick up red reflectors to the rear.

Funny about the rear plate only thing, Will, when I was in the States I thought the cars without the front plates looked distinctly odd in some cases - especially when the manufacturer had left a nice flat bit of metal on the front for them to put one on.

[Iceni]

Is there really a good reason for this other than change for the sake of change ?

John

not

[woolybanana]

Getting rid of the departmental plates is a dam n good thing because every time you changed department you had to change plates and it cost. And there were all sorts of fiddles associated with them I'm told.  It is also better if plates stay with the car as there is less likelihood they will be stolen, put on another car, a crime committed and you accused (as in Belgium). I think too that the département is likely to be less important than the région in future, perhaps or perhaps not good.

White plates are perhaps more visible too. Not quite sure.

[cooperlola]

I'm not sure the two issues are related, Woolyb, although the timing is similar.  '09 before the department nos go forever, I think.  I'm sure the more reflective nature of the white plates is the reason for this particular change, as you say.

[woolybanana]

I wonder if the new scheme might not also be cheaper to administer?

[cooperlola]

It has to be surely, although the plates will still have regional identification on the right of the plate (there's a thread about it round here somewhere!)  Although this will only tell you the origin of the car, since we won't have to swap depts. on s/h purchases any more.  Got to be a lot better, it's a right pain at present!

[mmaddock]

[quote user="cooperlola"]It has to be surely, although the plates will still have regional identification on the right of the plate (there's a thread about it round here somewhere!)  Although this will only tell you the origin of the car, since we won't have to swap depts. on s/h purchases any more.  Got to be a lot better, it's a right pain at present![/quote]

But presumably when you buy a car you're still going to have to go through the process of informing your insurer, going to the Prefecture with a pile of paperwork to get the CG and pay your fee - does anyone think it will be reduced because they aren't issuing a new number?!  The only thing that is going to change is that you're not going to have to put new plates on your car (25€ max?), so unless you're changing your car every month that's not really an issue!

Personally I rather like having a local plate!

Matt