The signposting of the clearance of bridges and other overhead obstructions in the United Kingdom is a mess. Clearances on service station canopies, access to buildings and car parks, motorway construction sites and airside at airports are given in metric units while until 2002 imperial units were used exclusively on road signs. In 2002, the use of metric units alongside imperial units was permitted on height, width and length restriction signs and in 2016 it became mandatory to use both metric and imperial units. It appears that the 2016 requirement to use both units is not properly enforced, possibly to placate voters who are opposed to metrication.
Continue reading “The Bridge Strike Problem”Category: Road signs
Australia’s successful metrication strategy
There is much to be learned from Australia’s highly successful 1970s metrication programme. In a previous Metric Views article, we looked at two information leaflets produced by Australia’s Metric Conversion Board; Temperature and Pressure go Metric and Motoring goes Metric. Both leaflets were part of intensive public information campaigns in the lead up to “M-days” for weather forecasting and motoring – specific days on which official measurement units switched from the old units to modern metric units.
In this article, we take a look at another of their leaflets, Think Metric – It’s Easy.
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Metric speed limits – 55 years of dilly-dallying
55 years ago today, the Government announced that,
“Speed limits on Britain’s roads are not to be metricated in 1973, as had been planned by the previous administration, and the Government has no alternative date in mind.”
In the 55 years since that announcement, successive governments have failed to set a new date for the changeover to metric speed limits. We reproduce here an extract from UKMA’s main website:
Continue reading “Metric speed limits – 55 years of dilly-dallying”
Metric speed limits, with a limit of 30 km/h in built-up areas, could reduce annual insurance premiums by £50
Yet another argument in favour of switching to metric road speed limits has emerged since Wales switched the default speed limit in built-up areas from 30 mph to 20 mph two years ago.
Do British road signs display symbols or abbreviations?
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, an abbreviation is defined as a “shortened form of a word in which part of the word is written” [rather than the whole word] while a symbol is defined as a “Mark or character taken as the conventional sign of some object or idea or process”. As a result, abbreviations are language-sensitive whereas symbols can be consistent across linguistic boundaries.
Continue reading “Do British road signs display symbols or abbreviations?”DfT excuse for promoting unauthorised imperial signs in the TSM for the last 9 years
When the latest Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) came into force in April 2016, imperial-only restriction signs for height, width and length were no longer authorised. However, the Traffic Signs Manual (TSM) that provides guidance to road contractors on signage has not been updated since 2009 and still includes imperial-only restriction signs to this day. Six months ago, I asked my local MP to contact the Secretary of State for Transport to ask why the Department for Transport has been promoting the use of unauthorised imperial-only road signs since 2016. I received a reply from the DfT a few days ago.
Continue reading “DfT excuse for promoting unauthorised imperial signs in the TSM for the last 9 years”Does the Traffic Signs Manual promote the illegal use of imperial-only vehicle restriction signs?
Eight years after the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) were updated to require all new vehicle restriction signs to show vehicle width and height restrictions in both metric and imperial units, the Department for Transport’s Traffic Signs Manual (TSM) has still not been fully updated to take account of the fact that new imperial-only vehicle restriction signs are no longer authorised.
Official thinking on dual unit road signs in the 1960’s
HM Government looked at the case for and against the use of dual unit road signs as an intermediate step in the metrication of road signs in the second half of the 1960’s. Three different methods for dual unit sign conversion were evaluated and some technical issues related to dual unit signs were discussed. The findings and illustrations from the National Archive papers are presented here.
Continue reading “Official thinking on dual unit road signs in the 1960’s”DfT hides metric nature of location signs from general public
Did you know that there are purely metric signs (without any imperial conversions) on major roads at one hundred metre intervals? If you know this, you are one of the few who do. I am referring to marker posts and driver location signs. These signs are used by the emergency services to help them to locate stranded drivers and are incompatible with the official traffic signs for the general public, which are almost exclusively imperial.
Continue reading “DfT hides metric nature of location signs from general public”British driver caught speeding in France after misreading km/h for mph
A British driver in France has been stripped of his driver licence after misreading a 125 km/h speed limit sign for 125 mph. This is not the first time that miles and kilometres have been confused when reading speed limits. Back in January 2021, Metric Views reported a similar case of a high-profile foreign Premier League footballer who confused km/h and mph when driving in the UK. And it is unlikely to be the last time it happens.
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Metric Views 