Very rarely use this forum but i have an observation. I don’t think i have ever seen a willi betz truck with matching number plates, is this legal? it seems to be the norm for nearly all euro trucks, bar spanish and italian. So why is it that if uk trucks did the same vosa could come down on the operators like a ton of bricks, The fixed penalty notice system on speed cameras would be strained because it would be a nightmare proving which truck caused the offence, I read that transport for london are having trouble keeping up with all the euro trucks not paying the congestion charge. cheers chris
Nearly all foreign trailers are registered in their own right and carry their own registration number. They are not required to display the registration number of the tractor unit.
ok so uk trailers are not registered in their own right, what about if a company with say 50 trucks jumbled all the reg plates round so none matched but were all registered with said company is this illegal theoretically?
That would be illegal because UK law states that a trailer must carry the registration number of the towing vehicle if the towing vehicle is GB-registered. A while ago there was talk of registering British trailers in the same way as (say) German ones which would mean each trailer carying its own registration plate which would be on the DVLA database and if this was to happen, trailers would no longer be required to carry the tractor unit’s registration plate. Nothing seems to have come of this though.
The truck I drive is registered and the trailer is also registered, both pay road tax in their own country but because Tony Blur & Gobby Brown have decided that the uk should be open to competition, it puts the uk transport system at a disadvantage. So instead of all of you slating the Poles, Czechs and Latvians for earning a living. Why not vote sensibly next time and sack Her Majestys Government 
Wheel Nut:
The truck I drive is registered and the trailer is also registered, both pay road tax in their own country but because Tony Blur & Gobby Brown have decided that the uk should be open to competition, it puts the uk transport system at a disadvantage. So instead of all of you slating the Poles, Czechs and Latvians for earning a living. Why not vote sensibly next time and sack Her Majestys Government
What good will that do ? You will only elect some other muppet who will do just a bad a job or worse.
Politics is EVER only a 2 horse race, Labour or Conservative and frankly they are just as bad as each other.
It is not simply a case of making the UK open to competition it is a case of the UK being part of a free market (the EU). Labour and capital and production are free to flow without hindrance. Neo classical theory states that all society will benefit (ie your stuff is cheaper to buy at Tesco) also you can get a lorry driver cheaper therefore make the stuff even cheaper.
Some people do not agree with it (there is very good economic theory against it). There is not a lot anyone can do to stop the tide. You should not expect a career to last a lifetime anymore.
The EU is not open to competition which keeps wages high otherwise it would not be a polish lorry passing you on the M1 but a chinese or african lorry.
yeah i notice lots of foreign lorries and all willi betz truck dont bother put thier plate on back of the trailer but Italian, Spain and Portugal - they got own seperate trailer and truck regs plate but every time i seen any willi betz truck, they got odd wrong plate - for example Trailer - NL Truck - CZ etc…
Just simple Mr Betz dont bother to buy other spares regs plate for trailer cos he cant afford it cos he got 8,500 trucks fleet! 
I have spent the last 35 years of my life living & working on the continent, the last 21 years full time in France. Britain, Ireland & Spain are the only ones in Europe that require the tractor number on the trailer. You can even lose your license & go to jail for having a number on a trailer that does not match its own registration. Conversly when a French tractor pulls a U.K. trailer in France it must have its tractor number on the back because the trailer isn’t registered anywhere. Yes I have had the U.K. Police try to tell me that I need the tractor number on the trailer but nothing has ever come of it.
jonb2610:
I have spent the last 35 years of my life living & working on the continent, the last 21 years full time in France. Britain, Ireland & Spain are the only ones in Europe that require the tractor number on the trailer. You can even lose your license & go to jail for having a number on a trailer that does not match its own registration. Conversly when a French tractor pulls a U.K. trailer in France it must have its tractor number on the back because the trailer isn’t registered anywhere. Yes I have had the U.K. Police try to tell me that I need the tractor number on the trailer but nothing has ever come of it.
That was my argument when I got pulled for no plate on a French Bordeaux (33) registered trailer. I actually got done for not showing a number plate, when clearly I had one.
Malc Was you driving a British tractor? The last time I was pulled driving a British tractor in the U.K. pulling a Danish trailer with only the Danish plate I was warned that I would be prosecuted if I didn’t put my spare plate on. One of our English drivers got a ticket even though he was in a French tractor unit but that was because he was pulling an English trailer. He didn’t fight it because he didn’t want to be victimised every time he arrived back home.
jonb2610:
Malc Was you driving a British tractor? The last time I was pulled driving a British tractor in the U.K. pulling a Danish trailer with only the Danish plate I was warned that I would be prosecuted if I didn’t put my spare plate on. One of our English drivers got a ticket even though he was in a French tractor unit but that was because he was pulling an English trailer. He didn’t fight it because he didn’t want to be victimised every time he arrived back home.
Yes it was UK reg Transalliance GBE. I couldnt be arsed to argue after the copper made me out to be a mass murderer. I paid the fixed penalty, but someone told me it can carry points now.
anyone heard this?
The rule of thumb is straightforward really.
UK tractor/French trailer in UK - tractor plate on back plus trailer plate.
UK tractor/French trailer in France - trailer plate on back
UK tractor/UK trailer in France - tractor plate on back.
French tractor/French trailer in UK - trailer plate on back
French tractor/UK trailer in UK - tractor plate on back.
French tractor/UK trailer in France - tractor plate on back.
In other words, you must always have a plate relevant to the (UK) tractor in the UK, and always have a plate relevant to the tractor or trailer in France.
Doesn’t apply to Italy apparently, where, after I had been pulled for no plate on the trailer (forgotten in the rush picking it up in Dover) the carabinieri actually stopped me from fixing it after my wife flashed her cleavage and complained how hungry she was. ‘Stop, stop, stop, take her to the ristorante now, down there, first right, second left…’ 
