When the Home Office recommended the new ‘battenburg’ marking for traffic patrol cars in the main blocks of colour were meant to be blue and yellow.
When one car was being equipped, there was an error somewhere along the line in the code number for the yellow reflective sheeting, and gold turned up instead.
Having got it, a decision was taken to use it, so we had a car with non-standard markings. There may have been a second one, but this is the only one I know about for certain and I was able to photograph it. Another possible unique vehicle.
Vauxhall Omega - Ooops wrong colour!
Brian Homans
This page was added on 19/02/2020.
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I had close contacts with Herts HQ Garage when I was serving in that force, and also had a two year secondment with PSDB. Whilst the comment is a valid one, I happen to know that it is not the case.
PDSB (later HOSDB) had some Traffic cars for testing various new tech at Sandridgebury; they all had this type of battenburg colouring. Could they have been sent to HertsPol after use?
That is of course a valid comment, but in our case when the ‘correct’ yellow was applied to other cars they did not look like this one!
I’m working on a police car model currently using real reflective vinyl and ‘yellow’ reflective vinyl actually is a sort of gold colour, it shines yellow under lighting. It’s ‘Lemon Yellow’ that has the more characteristic yellow look we’re used to seeing so maybe that was the issue?