Europe and GB

[Twitters]

Morning all,
Please can you answer a question, do we need a metal rear warning sign to go on the back of our motorhome when our bikes are put on our bike rack for Spain we have a plastic one at the moment but the other half has read somewhere that this needs to be metal. We also think we need to use a GB sticker but only for Spain and not the rest of Europe, (the UK sign is on our number plates), we are new to taking our Motorhome to Europe so need to make sure we have got it right.
Thanks for you help.

 

[Speve]

I believe you will find a metal one is required in Italy but plastic is ok in Spain,France and Portugal

 

[Roby2008]

The metal (Aluminium) ones for Italy are acceptable in Spain etc, while the Spanish one is not acceptable in Italy, so get the Italian pattern one and you are good across Europe...

I glued the Alu one to a thin sheet of plywood, easier to handle and does away with the sharp edges.

I used these to secure it.

 

[Twitters]

Ok thank you, i will get an Italian one so i can use it all over Europe, like the hair bands you secure the sign with by the way!

 

[Twitters]

I believe you will find a metal one is required in Italy but plastic is ok in Spain,France and Portugal

Thank you for letting me know, i will get an Italian sign so i can use all over europe.

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[Roby2008]

Ok thank you, i will get an Italian one so i can use it all over Europe, like the hair bands you secure the sign with by the way!

They are trailer cover straps/cords, very useful and cheap

 

[TerryL]

We used the plastic one in Italy, nobody bothered us!

By the way, the correct orientation is with the stripes going down right to left, as in photo above. Have heard of vehicles being stopped by jobsworths...............

 

[autorouter]

Ok thank you, i will get an Italian one so i can use it all over Europe,

It's not quite so simple. There are two stripe patterns, 5 stripe and 7 stripe I think, and usually you can turn the plate round to get the right one. So check there's the two patterns on it. Don't know which country requires which though.

The 'UK' on the number plate area is sufficient for quite a few EU countries, but several, including Spain, require an oval UK plate on the back. For all countries, if you have an oval UK plate you don't need anything on the number plate area. For example 'GB' on the numberplate doesn't technically mean anything now, but is not actually illegal.

 

[Insider]

Apologies for hijacking this thread - I have a PVC with a towbar mounted thule bike rack, full lights etc. Do I still need one of these warning signs on my bikes with that?

 

[Roby2008]

We used the plastic one in Italy, nobody bothered us!

By the way, the correct orientation is with the stripes going down right to left, as in photo above. Have heard of vehicles being stopped by jobsworths...............

You probably won´t ever be stopped but if you are buying one anyway then eliminate that 0.000000000000001% chance and sleep easier at night

Apologies for hijacking this thread - I have a PVC with a towbar mounted thule bike rack, full lights etc. Do I still need one of these warning signs on my bikes with that?

Yes, any extension from the back of the vehicle requires one .....

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[Roby2008]

It's not quite so simple. There are two stripe patterns, 5 stripe and 7 stripe I think, and usually you can turn the plate round to get the right one. So check there's the two patterns on it. Don't know which country requires which though.

The 'UK' on the number plate area is sufficient for quite a few EU countries, but several, including Spain, require an oval UK plate on the back. For all countries, if you have an oval UK plate you don't need anything on the number plate area. For example 'GB' on the numberplate doesn't technically mean anything now, but is not actually illegal.

Correct, the Italian one suffices but there is a double sided one with both patterns if you so desire.

I only ever used the Italian one, when you buy one here they only ever mention the rules for Italy and Spain, hence buying the Italian one that the Spanish find ok too.

 

[Soycd]

Apologies for hijacking this thread - I have a PVC with a towbar mounted thule bike rack, full lights etc. Do I still need one of these warning signs on my bikes with that?

We have one for ours, it’s a PVC with bikes on back but on a rack mounted on rear door. I find it relatively easy to fix on with cable ties, but when I have the cover on the bikes it’s more fiddly. You can buy bike covers that have a sleeve/pocket that you can put the warning sign in.

 

[Lenny HB]

The 'UK' on the number plate area is sufficient for quite a few EU countries, but several, including Spain, require an oval UK plate on the back. For all countries, if you have an oval UK plate you don't need anything on the number plate area. For example 'GB' on the numberplate doesn't technically mean anything now, but is not actually illegal.

Took the UK sticker off of the back of my van, got fed up with people taking photos of the back of the van and people asking where we were from even English people living in Spain.

 

[Twitters]

The metal (Aluminium) ones for Italy are acceptable in Spain etc, while the Spanish one is not acceptable in Italy, so get the Italian pattern one and you are good across Europe...
View attachment 740392


I glued the Alu one to a thin sheet of plywood, easier to handle and does away with the sharp edges.

I used these to secure it.

Thanks for the info, looked like hair toggles in the photo, i will get these to secure the board to the Motorhome , thanks again.

 

[autorouter]

Took the UK sticker off of the back of my van, got fed up with people taking photos of the back of the van and people asking where we were from even English people living in Spain.

I have the impression that Ukrainians are more welcome over there than Ukians