I came back from a short trip to Gibraltar one week ago and noticed that all their road signs were metric. The only imperial units I saw on road signs there were on dual-unit restriction signs. Many showed metres only, but none showed only feet and inches. Gibraltar road signs are almost exclusively metric with only limited use of imperial units, the mirror image of the UK situation.
Continue reading “Gibraltar is far ahead of UK on metric road signs”Category: Transport
UK measurement muddle affects Gibraltar Highway Code
Who would believe that the negative influence of the Department for Transport’s measurement muddle would be felt far beyond our shores? Believe it or not, it has an impact in Gibraltar as its Highway Code is based on the UK highway code and always has been. Despite the fact that the Gibraltar Highway Code is reviewed and adapted to meet Gibraltar’s local requirements, it is bizarre that it includes a table of stopping distances for speeds in miles per hour, which is the only place in the Code where miles are used. Gibraltar speed limits are in kilometres per hour and distances are all metric and this is reflected everywhere else in the Gibraltar Highway Code.
Continue reading “UK measurement muddle affects Gibraltar Highway Code”Opportunity missed to save £ millions on new speed limit signs in Wales
An opportunity to save millions of pounds on new speed limit signs in Wales has been missed by the failure to synchronise the lowering of the default speed limit on roads in built-up areas in Wales with a switch to metric speed limits.
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ULEZ becomes London-wide from today
The Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) has expanded to become London-wide from today. As it expands, we look at the crucial role of measurements to determine the criteria for vehicles to meet ULEZ standards. Needless to say, they are all metric.
Continue reading “ULEZ becomes London-wide from today”The other victory UKMA won in the end
The previous article describes how weights and measures legislation was saved from the axe by changes to the REUL Bill. There was another important victory that has also been won by UKMA with the help of powerful stakeholders though it took years to win. UKMA spent years fighting the Department for Transport before the battle to make metres mandatory on restriction signs was eventually won.
Continue reading “The other victory UKMA won in the end”Why do highway authorities take so long to replace worn-out signs?
There are some worn-out signs that have been in place for months, possibly years, but await replacement. On 4 May 2023, I contacted my local council to ask them to replace a worn-out height sign with a new one. It has been worn out for at least two years but has still not been replaced. I know that it has been worn out for this long because I still have a picture of this worn-out sign that I took on 26 May 2021. Despite informing the local council highway authority that it needs replacement, it has still not been replaced.
Continue reading “Why do highway authorities take so long to replace worn-out signs?”Tenths of a mile on UK odometers relate to nothing on British roads
Odometers in vehicles measure distances travelled in tenths of a kilometre or tenths of a mile, depending on the unit used in the target market. A tenth of a mile is 176 yards. However, there is nothing on British roads that is measured by tenths of a mile.
Continue reading “Tenths of a mile on UK odometers relate to nothing on British roads”Metric speed limits in Myanmar and Liberia
According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) factbook, “only three countries – Burma (former name for Myanmar), Liberia, and the US – have not adopted the International System of Units (SI, or metric system) as their official system of weights and measures”. 1 The key word in this sentence is “official”. It does not mean that they do not use the metric system. In fact, Myanmar and Liberia use metric speed limits unlike the UK.
Continue reading “Metric speed limits in Myanmar and Liberia”Metric measurements in airport rules
Following on from the previous MV article about the 100 ml liquid rule, we look at other airport regulations that involve measurements. Where measurements are involved, they tend to be expressed in the metric system, which is used worldwide. Metric units are used in airport regulations around the world. Here, we focus on rules at British airports.
Continue reading “Metric measurements in airport rules”London City Airport recently scrapped 100 ml liquid rule, which still applies in airports worldwide.
On 4 April 2023, London City Airport scrapped the 100 ml liquid rule. 1 Since 2006, airports worldwide have insisted that travellers can only bring liquids in containers of up to 100 ml in their carry-on bag. 2 These days, we take it for granted that the 100 ml limit for liquids at international airports around the world is exactly the same quantity. This is a triumph for the metric system, which replaced many different national systems long ago. Before the metric system, the same unit names were used for different quantities in different national measurement systems and there was no common definition for these units. The worldwide 100 ml liquid rule shows the benefits of a world standard measurement system for international travellers (i.e., the metric system).
Continue reading “London City Airport recently scrapped 100 ml liquid rule, which still applies in airports worldwide.”
