UK Numberplates - Why are they White and Yellow?

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Paganisterr
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Before you state the obvious that they're white at the front and yellow at the rear, what I mean is why are they them certain colours, white and yellow? Is it random or is there some logic to it? Dad done some searching today as a relative from Australia asked him why that is the case, and found nothing. I done a quick search - nothing. Can someone answer this question? Thanks!
 
wikipedia.com
Current plates have black characters on reflective white (for the front plate) or on reflective yellow (for the rear plate).

Older plates had white, grey or silver characters on a black background. This style of plate was phased out in 1972, and is now legal to be carried only on vehicles built prior to 1st January 1973.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_car_number_plates

Sorry, no answer. But looks like the current system does not go back too far.
 
The old plates were white on black. The new ones (new being like thirty years ago) are white over black or white over yellow depending on the positioning on the vehicle. There's no rhyme or reason to it except that those colors are quite visible and work well with the reflective materials used on the plates. You'll note that most European countries use black on white, Belgium being the most notable exception. Holland (Netherlands) uses black on yellow. It's just easiest to see.

Dark over light is typically more see-able than light over dark, although the NHTSA did seven zillion tests years ago to determine the best color for highway signs and decided that white over green was indeed best - they've been using it ever since. Most US license plates are dark numerals over a light background as well, with the exceptions being Delaware, Michigan, and Vermont.
 
Yeah, the Michigan white on blue licence plates are classic. Unfortunately, they are looking to get rid of them, and that would make me pretty sad.

EDIT: Editied for stupidity
 
Here in Victoria we can get a whole bunch of different colours. It's really cool.
0.400


We can even Buy 'Euro Plates' for fit European plate holders
0.31E
 
YSSMAN
Yeah, the Michigan white on blue licence plates are classic. Unfortunately, they are looking to get rid of them, and that would make me pretty sad.
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They've been using them for 26 years and personally I think it's time to see them go. They started in 1983 with AAA 000, went through ZZZ 999 and switched back to 000 AAA, then got all the way through 999 ZZZ and went to seven characters. It's quite a feat really, but the problem is legibility - now that Colorado switched designs, Michigan is the only state in the US with a license plate that's not fully reflectorized (only the numerals are). This can make them harder to see in low-visibility situations, though interestingly it does make them astonishingly easier to see in flash photographs - bad news if red light and speed cameras proliferate in that state.

Anyway, as you know, something like a quarter of residents get this plate instead:

06530141332_Great%20Lakes%20Splendor%20Plate.jpg


It's only $5 extra and it's intensely better-looking.
 
G.T
Before you state the obvious that they're white at the front and yellow at the rear, what I mean is why are they them certain colours, white and yellow? Is it random or is there some logic to it? Dad done some searching today as a relative from Australia asked him why that is the case, and found nothing. I done a quick search - nothing. Can someone answer this question? Thanks!
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I always thought it was something to do with the brake lights. A white rear plate is more likely to be tinted than a yellow one.

I suppose it also helps when working out the front end of a new VW Beetle with blacked out windows.

Also, a mate of mine's front number plate is actually pink. I don't know whether it is to do with Dyslexia or not. Either way it's seems perfectly legal.
 
Casio
Here in Victoria we can get a whole bunch of different colours. It's really cool.
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See in the US, it's causes. People get tired of the normal plates so they're given a choice to upgrade to a different (often better-looking) one, for a fee. Since the other images weren't showing up, here are a few of those:

agri.jpg

njgardenstate.jpg

225.jpg

bluebonnet.jpg

fw.jpg

txreads.jpg

VT02_falcon30035.jpg
 
Doug, your pictures aren't showing, except for the first one.

Though I do remember the Florida State plates and the NASA plates I saw on Holiday.
[EDIT] Now I can
 
M5Power
The old plates were white on black. The new ones (new being like thirty years ago) are white over black or white over yellow depending on the positioning on the vehicle. There's no rhyme or reason to it except that those colors are quite visible and work well with the reflective materials used on the plates. You'll note that most European countries use black on white, Belgium being the most notable exception. Holland (Netherlands) uses black on yellow. It's just easiest to see.

Dark over light is typically more see-able than light over dark, although the NHTSA did seven zillion tests years ago to determine the best color for highway signs and decided that white over green was indeed best - they've been using it ever since. Most US license plates are dark numerals over a light background as well, with the exceptions being Delaware, Michigan, and Vermont.
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No, UK plates are black on white (front) and black on yellow (rear).

The reason for the difference is so that you can tell which way the car is pointing. Cars are not to have any white reflective or illuminating spots on the rear, except for reversing lights that can only be lit when the car is in reverse.

Black on white and black on yellow are the highest-contrast (and thus most legible) colour combinations.
 
It used to be you could count out-of-state plates in South Florida. Now we have about 40-50 varieties of specialty in-state plates for every possible sports team, organization, and cause...just to keep our prisoners happy and our state troopers confused.

I wish I was an Army Paratropper, they have the most austere-looking plates, everything else looks too busy. Supposedly, you can register an old plate for an additional fee, so I've been looking for a 1977-1978 plate with a white background and green numbers/letters. No county, no slogan, no pictures, just "Florida" on the top. It almost looks fake.

They don't make 'em like they used to.
 
I wish Ontario would adopt the same practice as the US. Our plates either come as blue on white (first picture) or for a HUGE fee, you can get a cheap looking little image added to your plate to the one side (second picture).

ON98_ABTP357.jpg


plate.jpg
 
USA_MI_GI4_1940's.jpg

url


We've had plenty of good ones, but I still prefer old blue:
1147805462-blueplate.jpg
 
GilesGuthrie
No, UK plates are black on white (front) and black on yellow (rear).
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My bad - that was actually a typo.

harrytuttle
Wasn't there some debate regarding NY's Liberty plates? Was it that NJ claimed the statue resided on their territory?
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Yes. Basically what happened is this. In New York in 1986, the Statue of Liberty went on their license plate. This caused a minor stir in New Jersey who claims the statue is part of their state. In about 2002, New Jersey debuted a gorgeous specialty plate touting Liberty State Park, which has a full-color shot of the Statue of Liberty on it. Both states have fought over who really holds the rights to the statue for years.

nj-liberty.jpg


However, the truth of the matter as I know it is that in the 1890s this was also a problem and the matter was settled with a boat race, which New York won. To my knowledge, the statue was henceforth New York's property, even though it sits on Liberty State Park, which is part of New Jersey. Case essentially closed. It should also be noted that in 2001 New York switched license plate designs and the statue no longer appears on any New York plate.

license2.jpg
 
I believe the reason is that when driving at night, black on yellow gives a less harsh glare than the higher contrast black on white, so when driving behind others, your headlights don't reflect off the plate at a blinding level.
 
3-Wheel Drive
I believe the reason is that when driving at night, black on yellow gives a less harsh glare than the higher contrast black on white, so when driving behind others, your headlights don't reflect off the plate at a blinding level.
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Yeah, that's what we both figured in the end.

And wow, there are so many different plates in America...
 
TheCracker
UK plates also seem to be the largest plates of any country.
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Actually UK plates are quite comparable in size to most of the rest of Europe. The plates themselves are a bit taller in height than most other countries, but the characters are the same size (as, say, Germany) and they're the same width.
 
Indeed, though the Northwest Territories were using that one lots earlier (beginning in 1983 if I recall) and still use it to this day. Nunavut's only used it since it debuted as a place, in 2000. It really is classic though.

I've never seen one on a vehicle.
 
M5Power
Indeed, though the Northwest Territories were using that one lots earlier (beginning in 1983 if I recall) and still use it to this day. Nunavut's only used it since it debuted as a place, in 2000. It really is classic though.
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I know. Nunavut's been a separate territory since 1999 though. :p

I've never seen one on a vehicle.
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They're pretty rare around here (they're pretty rare, period, with the NWT and Nunavut having a combined population of around 75,000 people), but I see them once in a while.
 
Firebird
They're pretty rare around here (they're pretty rare, period, with the NWT and Nunavut having a combined population of around 75,000 people), but I see them once in a while.
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Do you ever see vehicles from the Yukon? That's another one I have yet to see. It's odd actually because I see Alaska tags daily and Hawaiis weekly. Though I suppose in truth much of Alaska is south of Yukon and it's much more populated. But you'd think eventually I'd see NWT or Yukon.
 
plateshw2.jpg

South Australian plates

1 - Standard plate
2 - Alternative slogan Standard plates
3 - Personalised Plates (Must contain at least 1 number and 1 letter, and must be 6 or 7 characters long - Custom plates alspo available in the same colours, but can contain any characters you want, in any order, up to a max of 7 characters) - Other colours are also available
4 - Classic Plates (For classic cars only)
5 - Different shapes of personalised and custom plates
6 - Different sizes of standard plates
7 - Corporate plates, showing the company logo, and business name/slogan, are available also

The images are not to scale between sections. (ie. 1,2,3 and 7 are the same size, 1 and 6 are approximately to the same scale, 6 being a little smaller)
 
M5Power
Do you ever see vehicles from the Yukon? That's another one I have yet to see. It's odd actually because I see Alaska tags daily and Hawaiis weekly. Though I suppose in truth much of Alaska is south of Yukon and it's much more populated. But you'd think eventually I'd see NWT or Yukon.
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I see them as often as NWT plates. The NWT plates are much more distinctive and easier to spot, though.
 
Casio
We can even Buy 'Euro Plates' for fit European plate holders
0.31E
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About time you mexicans get those euro plates we have had them in nsw for ages now.

Love the SA - The creative state....just like qld being the smart state :dopey: I think they need a new slogan for nsw - the most expensive state
 

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