Recent YouGov survey on attitudes to metrication of road transport

On 4 April 2023, YouGov carried out a survey of 4808 British adults about changing the rules around speed and distance in the UK from miles to kilometres. It revealed insights on different attributes based on region, politics, and age.

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Odd British Measurement Usage in the Transport Sector

Some aspects of measurement usage in the British transport sector appear to be uniquely British with no known parallel across the whole world. The British really are out of step with the modern world when it comes to transport measurements. The British transport sector is one of the last imperial bastions in the UK thanks to DfT policies.

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DfT holds back TfL from all-metric usage

Transport for London (TfL) uses metres and kilometres to express distances in its press releases with few exceptions and often uses metres elsewhere in public places. However, speeds are expressed in miles per hour, no doubt due to Department for Transport (DfT) regulations and usage. Tariffs for taxi fares are expressed in metres for short journeys and in miles for longer journeys and reflect current regulations. I praise TfL for using metric units wherever they can. It is a pity that DfT regulations and usage are holding back TfL from going fully metric.

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London speed limits make front page news

Ronnie Cohen, one of our regular contributors, wonders why it  will be easy to find the cash to reduce speed limits in London but has been impossible to convert them to metric.

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No flight information please – we’re British

Ronnie Cohen wonders why at least one budget airline flying from the UK targets its flight information at continental and American passengers.

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Review of The Official Highway Code 2015 Edition

Ronnie Cohen reviews the 2015 Edition of the The Official Highway Code to comment on what has changed since the last edition and what has remained the same.

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DfT cost claims busted

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) now puts forward cost as the principal reason for the failure to convert road traffic signs to metric. Ronnie Cohen reports on a major study he has recently carried out, using the Freedom of Information Act, to find out the actual costs of replacing and installing traffic signs. He finds that the DfT estimate of cost, published in 2006, bears little relation to reality.

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