Donegal reg - why all the yellow plates?

Kotek Besar

Here in Waterford, it's about as far from Donegal as one can get. Nonetheless, you still see the odd Donegal car from time to time.

Curious thing is, almost every DL reg car that I see, has a yellow rear plate.

Why? (proud unionists?)

egan007

Boy racers seem to think it looks good.....

Kotek Besar

egan007 wrote: »

Boy racers seem to think it looks good.....

That's the reason?! But, why only in Donegal?

Dolph Starbeam

Not sure, there is someone in Donegal who sell loads of Civics to boy racers, it in auto trader every week, they all look practically the same and most of them have the yellow reg., which is illegal but i'm guessing its because Donegal is at the border.

faigs

Usualy see it around Monaghan and other places near the border, the boy racers do think it looks cool all right.

ednwireland

ithink its in the hope the guards will glance and assume its a northern reg car and not chase them down and do them for whatever its actually common enough on non boy racer cars although a lot less prevalent since the nct came in (you have to swap the plates to pass the nct)
IMO though they should nick em for illegal number plates

VH

it matches their Union Jack socks:)

i think its to make the car look foreign (as in from the uk) in the hope the gardai will ignore it

superjosh9

From people I know who used to run such plates, my understanding is that, (and you have to understand this is going back many, many years long before the 1987 etc. regs came in), southern cars entering Northern Ireland didn't want to attract any attention to themselves. Remember things weren't always so rosy.

It's nothing to do with boy racers - or at least it certainly wasn't when it started.

Vegeta

What year are the cars?

Now this is something I heard from a boy racer so I don't know how true it is so don't nail me over it.

Do cars prior to 1990 (or around then) have to have the standard reg plates?

superjosh9

From my own experience, the cars I knew of were Dublin registered - and this was back in the 1970s.

I'm not sure about the reg plate rule - didn't the current blue eu bit come in 1991? So yeh, I'd say that pre-91 you are allowed to run the old plates - unless they changed the rule.

furtzy

Speaking as a border inhibitant it used to be done by people in ROI border counties so as to not draw attention to their cars when in the north. Completely pointless after 1987 when the new reg format came in. Done now solely by Donegal boy racers to look cool :rolleyes:

Dolph Starbeam

Ye pre 1990 you can use the older size plates if you want, they still need to be the right size but i'm not sure about the colour.

I've seen tthe plates on a few 98 and 01 Civics so obviously they don't go under that bracket.

furtzy

MOG7 wrote: »

Ye pre 1990 you can use the older size plates if you want, they still need to be the right size but i'm not sure about the colour.

I've seen tthe plates on a few 98 and 01 Civics so obviously they don't go under that bracket.

Yellow rear regs are illegal no matter what the year of car.

L1011

Viewpoint seems to be "it looks cool" - not my view though.

I'm not sure its actually possible to get legal plates in Donegal, I had a set from back home once and it was bold font, no dashes - although on white with eurobands. Didn't have them cause I thought they looked cool but because I needed a replacement plate there and then, but just never got around to replacing them till the NCT.

Robbo

benifa wrote: »

That's the reason?! But, why only in Donegal?

They like the duality of espousing republican views whilst pretending their Twin Cam is registered in the North?

_Kaiser_

Theres a lot of CN reg cars/jeeps/SUVs on yellow plates as well.

([offtopic mini-rant]God I hate SUV's and the women who drive them! :rolleyes: [/offtopic mini-rant])

FX Meister

benifa wrote: »

Here in Waterford, it's about as far from Donegal as one can get.

Geography wasn't your strongest subject in school I imagine.

Wishbone Ash

The yellow plates look stupid enough but what really takes the biscuit is when they arrange them as such: 05D L567 Talk about drawing attention to yourself! :rolleyes:

FX Meister wrote: »

Geography wasn't your strongest subject in school I imagine.

LOL

Kotek Besar

FX Meister wrote: »

Geography wasn't your strongest subject in school I imagine.

Alright smart arse. Donegal North-West, Waterford South-East. Exact distance is hardly relevant for the subject being discussed is it? Idiot. :rolleyes:

FX Meister

benifa wrote: »

Alright smart arse. Donegal North-West, Waterford South-East. Exact distance is hardly relevant for the subject being discussed is it? Idiot. :rolleyes:

REPORTED>

unkel

benifa wrote: »

Alright smart arse. Donegal North-West, Waterford South-East. Exact distance is hardly relevant for the subject being discussed is it? Idiot. :rolleyes:

Cool it benifa. That's a warning

Kotek Besar

FX Meister wrote: »

REPORTED>

YOU report ME?! lol :rolleyes:

unkel wrote: »

Cool it benifa. That's a warning

Me cool it? I'm not the one coming on making smart comments that are totally off-topic. :rolleyes:

Wolverine_1999

I always wondered about this as well, and after hearing stories of Bus Eireann switching buses before entering the north, I kind of realised why they might want to be on the yellow plates up in the north of the country.

People are very racist up north and it's not just something to do with religion, Union Jacks or proudness (what's to be proud of to be honest?)

So, either this, or it's a Boy Racer thing :P

P.S

FX Meister, learn the term "figure of speech"

tbh

Wolverine_1999 wrote: »

People are very racist up north and it's not just something to do with religion, Union Jacks or proudness (what's to be proud of to be honest?)

funny, cause people down south over-generalise.

peasant

benifa, you got warned for insulting another member, now it's "official", red card and all
(hint: stop arguing and escalating the issue now)

fx meister:
benifa's geography is spot on, leave it alone

Any more reported posts out of either of you on this non-issue and the reporter takes a holiday

Kotek Besar

Wolverine_1999 wrote: »

FX Meister, learn the term "figure of speech"

Ignore him. There's always one.

Back on topic.. It's funny, it seems it's not only Donegal registered cars that seem go for yellow plates. By chance, I just spotted today a "boy racerish" Subaru that was 99 D xxx with a plain yellow rear plate, and bold black lettering.

FX Meister

I always thought it meant the driver wanted to be part of the north and not the south. Hence the colour of their reg.

Max_Damage

There is an old Mazda 323 near me that has yellow plates on the back (it's an old 'SI' Dublin reg.)

L1011

Wolverine_1999 wrote: »

I always wondered about this as well, and after hearing stories of Bus Eireann switching buses before entering the north, I kind of realised why they might want to be on the yellow plates up in the north of the country.

People are very racist up north and it's not just something to do with religion, Union Jacks or proudness (what's to be proud of to be honest?)

So, either this, or it's a Boy Racer thing :P

P.S

FX Meister, learn the term "figure of speech"

1993 called, it wants you back...

For social and other reasons I spend HUGE amounts of time in Northern Ireland, often in DUP stronghold, 70%+ Unionist areas. Southern accent, KE or D reg car. Never had a single problem. If I was running around streaming a Tricolour behind me, there might be issues - but thats about it.

The yellow plates is SOLELY a boy racer thing.

FX Meister

MYOB wrote: »

1993 called, it wants you back...

For social and other reasons I spend HUGE amounts of time in Northern Ireland, often in DUP stronghold, 70%+ Unionist areas. Southern accent, KE or D reg car. Never had a single problem. If I was running around streaming a Tricolour behind me, there might be issues - but thats about it.

The yellow plates is SOLELY a boy racer thing.

Friends of mine spent a lot of time in unionist areas too. They always put their cars into the garage and drove around in northy reg cars.

L1011

FX Meister wrote: »

Friends of mine spent a lot of time in unionist areas too. They always put their cars into the garage and drove around in northy reg cars.

I have one car, I don't have access to garages to store it in or other cars. Its also (currently) a very new and relatively rare model (albeit not rare like other boardsies would have!) - and I feel less safe parking it in Inchicore than I do in Ballymena.

Believing that Northern Ireland is some scary place where Southerners are shot on sight demonstrates a closed-minded attitude and a willingness to live in the past.

stretchaq

I stopped in ballymena last year with an irish plate to ask for directions and lets say iwas told to ''find my own way'' in more colourfull langage so seeing an open road in front of me i told him to ''put his directions in his rectum'' in more colourfull terminology,

i am in no way sectarian, racist or whatever i couldnt care less about the north/south dilemma i only wanted to get to Eddie Torrens scrap yard(he didnt particularly like the irish plate either)

theses sort of attitudes still exist in the north and drivers need to be carefull in some areas

FX Meister

In 2002 myself and friends got attacked by a gang of smelly catholics in Belfast. Luckily our prody mates came to the rescue. Believing that everyone up there holds hands now is naive and ignorant. What's your rare car? I wouldn't park anything in Inchicore, but then I'm a Northsider and only have my own view of how rough the southside can be.

peasant

fx meister ...stop baiting and trying to get a rise out of people

smashey

I'm from Donegal and can confirm that the yellow number plates are only used by the boy racers.

stretchaq

FX Meister wrote: »

In 2002 myself and friends got attacked by a gang of smelly catholics in Belfast. Luckily our prody mates came to the rescue. Believing that everyone up there holds hands now is naive and ignorant. What's your rare car? I wouldn't park anything in Inchicore, but then I'm a Northsider and only have my own view of how rough the southside can be.

THIS IS THE SORT OF ATTITUDE THAT CAUSES ALL THE PROBLEMS

FX Meister

Yeah, but you get bigots on both sides. It's just bred into them I guess.

L1011

FX Meister wrote: »

In 2002 myself and friends got attacked by a gang of smelly catholics in Belfast. Luckily our prody mates came to the rescue. Believing that everyone up there holds hands now is naive and ignorant. What's your rare car? I wouldn't park anything in Inchicore, but then I'm a Northsider and only have my own view of how rough the southside can be.

Believing that everyone in the South holds hands - ever - is naive. NI has much the same share of problems as we have.

stretchaq - I've had someone in Cork City refuse to give me directions for being a 'Jackeen ****' before (I'm not - I just have a D reg car). Don't see how that has much to do with it being NI.

Overature

because donegal is the middle of know where and the people there have to go to the big city sometimes (Dublin) why they would go all the way to waterford i dont know.

L1011

Overature wrote: »

because donegal is the middle of know where and the people there have to go to the big city sometimes (Dublin) why they would go all the way to waterford i dont know.

To put their football team out of the Eircom Premier League... was the last reason I went to Waterford for anyway

waxon-waxoff

In the 80's and 90's there was a shortage of performance cars available second hand in the republic, the likes of 205 GTI's, Nova Gsi's and Twin cams. As a result most car enthusiasts imported cars from the north or the uk, especially in border areas. Many peole liked the look of yellow rear plates and kept them. This started the trend.

There is a bigger car modification culture and motorsport culture in the north than down south and this is another reason people got yellow plates to be associated with the northern scene.

VH

MYOB wrote: »

I have one car, I don't have access to garages to store it in or other cars. Its also (currently) a very new and relatively rare model (albeit not rare like other boardsies would have!) - and I feel less safe parking it in Inchicore than I do in Ballymena.

Believing that Northern Ireland is some scary place where Southerners are shot on sight demonstrates a closed-minded attitude and a willingness to live in the past.

would you park your southern reg car in portadown, larne or the shankhill road?

rigal

benifa wrote: »

Here in Waterford, it's about as far from Donegal as one can get. Nonetheless, you still see the odd Donegal car from time to time.

Curious thing is, almost every DL reg car that I see, has a yellow rear plate.

Why? (proud unionists?)

Not sure if you're from Donegal or not?

If you ever go to Donegal you'll soon realise that not that many DL cars have yellow reg's there. It is generaly a few boyracers who have them. I'm not doubting what you've seen but it hasn't been my experience.

For those that do have them I don't think it's anything to do with being proud unionists.

A few reasons I can think of are:

1. They look different (to standard DL regs) and boyracers seem to like breaking from the norm.

2. In the hope that it'll confuse the cops or another motorist while they commit driving offences North/South of the border.

3. So they blend in better with other cars when they're up North for obvious reasons (which I don't think we need to go into here on this thread).

L1011

VH wrote: »

would you park your southern reg car in portadown, larne or the shankhill road?

Done, done and I've parked it on Sandy Row. Also parked it in Banbridge on a Saturday night.

This is not the 1990s and you're showing the same attitude as the other people who've likely not been in the North for years.

VH

MYOB wrote: »

Done, done and I've parked it on Sandy Row. Also parked it in Banbridge on a Saturday night.

This is not the 1990s and you're showing the same attitude as the other people who've likely not been in the North for years.

i think youre a wee bit naive - a relation of mine lived in bangor co down a few years ago and his car was targetted by people claiming to be the uvf - car was broken into a note saying "get out - the uvf" left on the driver seat - ironically he had moved over from london and the car was english reg.

Wishbone Ash

VH wrote: »

i think youre a wee bit naive - a relation of mine lived in bangor co down a few years ago and his car was targetted by people claiming to be the uvf - car was broken into a note saying "get out - the uvf" left on the driver seat - ironically he had moved over from london and the car was english reg.

In that situation, it would appear that it had nothing to do with the registration.

I've been driving around NI for 20 years with ROI registered vehicles and never had any hassle from anyone. Even when the British army used to carry out searches/checks at the border, they were always very courteous to me.

L1011

VH wrote: »

i think youre a wee bit naive - a relation of mine lived in bangor co down a few years ago and his car was targetted by people claiming to be the uvf - car was broken into a note saying "get out - the uvf" left on the driver seat - ironically he had moved over from london and the car was english reg.

Few years ago, and "targetted". First one is part of the problem - this is not the past. Second one suggests its an abnormal situation. Also, a British reg car != a southern reg car!

There's no naivety here - I have never had a problem in Northern Ireland, nor has anyone I know first hand had one. All that has been said here so far is third-hand information, or from some time ago, or both.

Aaaaanyway, to get back to the original point of this - there is absolutely no chance that having a yellow rear reg plate is to make the car less obvious in the North. Being a Donegal boy racer at heart (having managed to contain the urge to add Wolfrace mods to my car, etc...) - its solely for looks.

VH

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

In that situation, it would appear that it had nothing to do with the registration.

no, but all to do with being from the south

there was a auld lad on the telly the other evening from NI - asked how he would describe his Britishness he answered "being anti-Irish"

it might be all quiet up there now, but the biggots havent gone away you know:)

L1011

And yet both of the Paisley's consider themselves "Irish but British"*...

The bigots haven't gone away, but they aren't torching every white-plated car either. People having an attitude that times haven't changed really isn't helping things either. Maybe you should actually go up there and see for yourself rather than relying on third parties and outdated info? Its only an hour on the M1.

*Ian has publicly refused to say he's not Irish and Eileen has made reference to 'seeing our beautiful island', theres been other statements too...

VH

I go to NI regularly - maybe once a month. I am careful about where i go and will continue to do so. I'm not worried about the Paisleys but rather scumbags who dress it up as loyalism.

6ix

I'm shocked at the level of ignorance in here - quite a number of the people in here appear never/rarely to have visited the North, but would feel that their cars have a good chance of being vandalised purely based on their numberplate. I'm sure it has happened at some point but get some perspective!

on topic...

Yellow numberplates look daft IMO, plus they'll have to be changed for the NCT so what's the point. Still, it wouldn't bother me a whole lot. A lot of young lads in border towns have addresses on both sides of the border anyway, so sometimes they manage to avoid VRT altogether it seems.