Blokes with trade plates at motorway junctions - what's that all about?

I regularly see people on foot at motorway junctions holding a trade number plate or similar. Are they waiting for a particular person to pick them up, are they registered lift scroungers, or are they just a bit mad?

Answers:
These are guys who deliver cars to individual clients.

They drive to the garage/showroom/house (using trade plates, as the law permits), deliver the car and then have to get home. Many companies who employ these drivers don't pay the fares for return trips.

Hence, you see 'em on motorway junctions, holding their trade plates, thumbing a lift
They just want a lift.Saves money.
the plate is supposed to mean...
"Hi i need a lift and as you can see by my plate, i work in the transport industry, so pick me up now ! "..free.
They have dropped a new car off to its owner and are looking for a cheap way to get home - they have to pay their own way, so if they can get a lift them make more money.
They just delivered a car. Which means they are mostly trustworthy and would appreciate a lift to the nearest close junction. They will be given enough to get home by public transport, but would love to get home quicker. Dont be mean.give them a lift!!
These are people who have delivered cars/trucks from on place to another using trade plates and they would like a lift back home. Showing the trade plate to drivers is their way of saying that they would like you to take them home.
It is their prison numbers, they have just escaped
In the early seventies this was the case:

They have dropped a new car off to its owner and are looking for a cheap way to get home - they have to pay their own way, so if they can get a lift them make more money.

(Pinched the quote).

Are things the same now?
People in the car trade tend to look out for one another, hence the reason they identify themselves with trade plates. That way another passer-by in the industry will be likely to pick them up. It provides a means of identification so you can trust them. and long-distance truck drivers also appreciate a chat rather than just teh radio all the way to their destination. Saves tehm a little money, gets them somewhere a little quicker.
does it not mean they have insurance to drive any car so if long distance you can share the driveing? still, sod them as they still wont get a lift from me.

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