With the end in prospect for road traffic signs showing imperial-only vehicle dimensions, Ronnie Cohen takes a look at the current muddle.
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Progress at last on vehicle dimension signs
The 2016 traffic sign regulations banning new imperial-only vehicle dimension signs were laid before Parliament on 23 March 2016 and came into force on 22 April. Ronnie Cohen looks at the chequered history of this commonsense reform.
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An insight into recent thinking at the DfT
We look at some internal correspondence at the UK Department for Transport (DfT) on the subject of the avoiding the obligation to fix a date for the conversion of road traffic signs to metric measurements.
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EU in or out: metric either way
In February, the Prime Minister confirmed the date of the referendum which will decide whether the United Kingdom remains in or leaves the European Union (EU). The referendum will take place on 23 June 2016. In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at some measurement issues related to the decision on EU membership.
Notable anniversaries in the last hold-out of irrational measures
The following article appeared in March/April 2016 edition of Metric Today, the newsletter of the US Metric Association (USMA). It is being re-posted with USMA’s permission.
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There may be hope for us yet
Metric Views has come across a personal view on the use of the metric system in Germany that may surprise some of our readers.
The curse of conversion factors
In this article, Ronnie Cohen looks at lists of plausible conversions in both directions between imperial units still in use in the UK and metric units.
The battle for measurement supremacy
In December 2015, television weather forecasters expressed our record rainfall in millimetres while the national newspapers stubbornly stuck to inches. Apparently, the use two different measurement systems for the same phenomenon is alive and well in the UK. Ronnie Cohen looks at other aspects of British national life where two competing systems are used for measuring the same thing.
OECD report highlights problems with numeracy in England
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recently published a report entitled “Building Skills for All: A Review of England”, part of the OECD Skills Studies series of reports. Ronnie Cohen considers its findings.
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Pocket World in Figures: A common booklet for a global readership
In this article, Ronnie Cohen writes about a UK publication involving measurement that is aimed at a global readership.
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