Special Sub-Topic: European car number plates Click Here To Play: European car number plates

Which European country shares its layout with the new UK style (though with different meanings)?

Romania. The UK switched their ancient system of plate issue in 2001. By the limited variations of format possible, they coincidentally used one resembling the Romanians.

Which UK 3 letter code was for the Scilly Isles pre 2001?

SCY. Normally areas in the UK had two characters, the third being to add variations. As the Scilly Isles and the Isle of Man were so small, they were given their own 3 letter codes, SCY and MAN. The 2 letter code MN was also given to the Isle of Man, being a good deal larger than the Scillies.

What colour is the background of: Slovenian temporary, Norwegian light truck, and many French consular plates?

Green. Slovenia have the most artistic mint green colour, slightly darker for Norway, while France has dark green.

In the UK plates format 123 X 456, what does the X stand for?

Other embassy staff. Normal diplomatic staff replace the X with a D. Ambassadors usually have a staff car with the plate reflecting the country, eg IND 1 for India. (Also the only time British plates could use an I or Z pre 2001).

Which of these countries uses plates relating to their location, the rest issued in order centrally?

Norway. More European countries, with France to come in 2004, are dropping their use of geographical number plates, though some such as Belgium and Portugal, never had them. I have no reason why this is, and when the UK changed in 2001, they wrote a new list of geographic codes. Spain and Italy dropped theirs in the last few years and France will soon when they run out of codes.

BZH is the unofficial ID for which region?

Brittany. Many disputed regions who would like independence sell stickers with a separatist logo on, including Cornwall (Kernow). No doubt the European authorities will make this an offence sooner or later.

British trade plates use characters that are not the usual black or earlier white. Which colour are they?

red. Some countries have a rainbow of assorted plate colours. We got our first in the early 70's when our rear plates became yellow, besides the long standing red on white trade plates. Otherwise they were all white on black, and are now black on white fronts and yellow rear.

Apart from the Netherlands, which other European country uses yellow plates front and back?

Luxembourg. Though most rear plates in many countries are white or yellow, only a handful worldwide use yellow front plates as well. Israel and Zimbabwe do as well, though I'd be pressed to find the others. USA and some Australian states change their colours too frequently to keep track of!

What is the international ID badge for Liechtenstein?

FL. FL stands for Fuerstentum Liechtenstein.Fuerstentum means principality. LT is Lithuania and L is Luxembourg. LI does not exist.

Which country has recently started issuing its first 3 letter codes?

Jersey. Not being large enough to need 3 letters, Jersey has just decided to sell JSY custom plates to try and raise some extra revenue.