 Poster: A snowHead
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@Layne, so you can shout Oi Oi at other GB/UK cars when you’re on the open road! Just me?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Layne wrote: |
| Forgetting the legality for a moment.... why does anyone need a country sticker... as in what practical purpose does it serve? |
Lets the police, etc know which country to contact when looking up a registration number. Does it serve any real purpose in the modern, computerised day and age? No.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Green card no longer required, according to govt website. Applies to EU, Switzerland, Andorra. Others countries still a requirement.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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My principle is that however unjustified or unlikely it is that I'll be asked to produce it, if something is free or very cheap, then I'll get it. So I will display my UK sticker (£1.75); my Crit'Air Certificate (£4); and have a Green Card (£0) and IDP (£5.50). This year, as there was a chance I'd be returning via Lichtenstein, I also got an ICMV V5C equivalent (£0).
Of course, odds are that not having any of these will be fine. But my thinking is why give an official who's determined to be awkward the opportunity to find fault? And to be fair, traffic cops have some pretty awful accidents to clean up after: a Gendarme who not long earlier had to handle a bad accident is going to be unreceptive to me arguing about why I don't need a Green Card or UK sticker, understandably.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Has anyone been prosecuted for not having a UK sticker?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Green card has to be much more important than a UK sticker!
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I phoned my insurer (LV) before we went to France, and they confirmed unequivocally that I did not need a Green Card.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| taffvalais wrote: |
| Has anyone been prosecuted for not having a UK sticker? |
No idea, but I'd say maybe 30-40% of UK drivers I saw on my drives in France didn't display a UK sticker.
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I never had a sticker and still have my old number plate was driving out in France for 6 weeks followed by police on several occasions never had a drama
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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That’s what I thought, I can’t imagine a Gendarme or Swiss police caring about some pointless decision to change from GB to UK.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| taffvalais wrote: |
| That’s what I thought, I can’t imagine a Gendarme or Swiss police caring about some pointless decision to change from GB to UK. |
They don't. They, or at least the ones I have come across, in France, Italy, Slovenia and Austria, are more interested in talking about rugby rather than my outdated(?) illegal (?) CYM with euro stars bit on the end of my car numberplate. Life's too short for stuff like that. 
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Most of my many continental trips over the years have been made without a 'GB' sticker, though sometimes I did put one on. However, I have been stopped by police for transgressions, incl speeding, and the lack of a country identifier wasn't added to the 'bill'.
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You know it makes sense.
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But for the price of a coffee - why wouldn't you just stick a new sticker on?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I don't know why, but I think the UK stickers look particularly naff and shouty. I have a magnetic flattened-oval one which probably doesn't conform to The Rules... but looks a bit neater and can be taken off when I get back.
Like others, I never had a GB sticker for years and had no problems. When the discreet GB-EU stars number plates appeared I didn't have to bother anyway.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@caughtanedge, Aesthetics aside, the style, shape, design of the sticker is an EU requirement, not a UK gov requirement.
Maybe the Brussels lot did it on purpose to make our cars look crap?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@NickYoung, Not EU - originally the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic from 1949, Annex 4:
"The distinguishing sign shall be composed of one to three letters in capital Latin characters. The letters shall have a minimum height of 80 mm. (3.1 in.) and their strokes a width of 10 mm. (0.4 in.). The letters shall be painted in black on a white ground of elliptical form with the major axis horizontal."
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Originally yes, but the EU invoked it's return as a consequence of leaving. They didn't have to insist on it, but it really isn't a big deal, is it?
The magnetic versions are great for those who don't like it.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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+1, magnetic. BTW, I've seen cars on the continent boasting "Ecosse" on their bootlids, how legal are those?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| davidthornton wrote: |
| +1, magnetic. BTW, I've seen cars on the continent boasting "Ecosse" on their bootlids, how legal are those? |
They're not illegal but they aren't recognised as a country designation. I've always used one as I've had some anecdotal evidence that cars with GB stickers tend to be preferentially targeted by vandals in some countries.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| MikeM wrote: |
| davidthornton wrote: |
| +1, magnetic. BTW, I've seen cars on the continent boasting "Ecosse" on their bootlids, how legal are those? |
They're not illegal but they aren't recognised as a country designation. I've always used one as I've had some anecdotal evidence that cars with GB stickers tend to be preferentially targeted by vandals in some countries. |
A bit contradictory, not illegal but not recognised. As I understand the system, it's not E.U. deciding on the format and implementing, but the U.N. Geneva Convention ratifies the format, i.e. the legality.
But, as far we are concerned here, cops across Europe are not going get themselves embroiled in semantics when issuing fines for illegal parking, excess speed, crossing solid centre lines, having a right hand drive car, etc!
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@davidthornton,
They aren't illegal. You can't be fined for displaying them any more than you can be fined for displaying a "kids on board sticker". On the other hand you could potentially be fined for not displaying a UK sticker if you choose to display an Ecosse sticker in its place.
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Does anyone have any direct experience with this actually being enforced? I doubt very much that the French police are going to be bothered about it, based on our own experiences of driving Swiss-registered cars across the French border literally thousands of times in the last 20-odd years.
Swiss number plates are not EU-compliant, but although easily recognisable with a Swiss flag on them, officially the requirement for CH stickers has always been there, just like it now is again for the UK. In all the time we've been here not once has the lack of stickers even been commented on, including perhaps half a dozen times when I've actually been pulled over by Police for spot checks, and a couple of occasions for speeding, where the cops most likely would have been keen to press more charges if they could.
There were some apocryphal stories about Italian police fining Swiss drivers a decade or more ago, but we've driven cars through Italy without stickers on several occasions as well.
So IMO it's a storm in a teacup and I wouldn't think it worth anyone being bothered about it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| NickYoung wrote: |
| They [EU] didn't have to insist on it, but it really isn't a big deal, is it? |
They didn't, surely? It's just what the rules are if you're not in the EU. Why would the EU go to all the administrative/legislative effort of making the UK an exception? If you're not in the EU then the UN protocol covers what you should display. It's clear and simple. No, it's not a big deal and most countries don't bother enforcing it - but no one got into a froth about it, other than the usual Tory ERG types fixated on blaming the EU for everything: yet it was a Tory Transport Minister who decided to change the UN country code, and who submitted to the appropriate authority - the UN. Oh and myself, perhaps, because it was a completely pointless change that would only cost money for absolutely no benefit.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 8-05-22 11:30; edited 1 time in total
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I didn't realise this was a thing until getting to Folkestone in April. Drove to 3V and back with my GB sticker without issue.
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FAQ
