Comments on: UK pays the cost of failure to implement the Vienna Convention

By: Steveib

Steveib — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:50:37 +0000

can anyone tell me if there is a legal requirement to display height restriction signs? We have recently damaged a van and wonder if we have any rights for compensation?

By: Michael Glass

Michael Glass — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:23:54 +0000

With road signs, the problem with height signs is clearly an opportunity. As a matter of safety, UK clearance signs under bridges must be marked in both metres and feet and inches. Any other arrangement is asking for trouble. Campaign for this change and you’re on a winner.

There’s another change that would also make sense: metricate the roads in Northern Ireland. It is crazy to have different systems on one island.

By: Michael Glass

Michael Glass — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:44:25 +0000

In Australia, the change from Imperial to metric signs on roads was helped by the fact that before the changeover, we had signs that were like the American signs whereas when the signs were metricated, they were made to conform to the International designs. This can be seen in the following clip on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoEgJzNf8b4

As there was a clear difference in the signs it helped to avoid confusion. It also helped that all the signs were changed in one month, July 1974.

By: John Frewen-Lord

John Frewen-Lord — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:16:25 +0000

The more I realise the fact that Britain’s road signs are primarily imperial, the more bizarre it appears to me. The whole world is metric! (Well, except the USA.) I lived in Canada for many years, and witnessed the changeover on the roads first hand (I even had a peripheral role as a member of a sub-committee that established the preferred units and increments). That was 30 years ago, and people in Canada today just don’t even begin to think in miles on the roads. If anyone has watched that program on TV about the truckers driving ice roads in Northern Canada, you’ll know what I mean – even these, perhaps salt of the earth types, but hardly paragons of higher education, will only use m and km. If these people can do it, then so can any Brit. How long do we have to keep on making excuses for government inaction and stupid imperial zealots?

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:54:10 +0000

A couple of years ago I hired a large van. Within minutes I came across a low bridge on a busy road. The height restriction on the bridge was in imperial, the vehicle dimensions were clearly given on the sun visor in metric. Since reversing wasn’t an option given the traffic behind me, my only option was to drive under the bridge with my head out of the window to check the roof of the van didn’t hit the bridge. The idiotic, government-backed dual measurement system in Britain is just asking for trouble.

By: Ezra Steinberg

Ezra Steinberg — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:42:40 +0000

As it happens, I discovered via the UKMA’s link to the DfT’s traffic sign manual that metric-only height restriction signs are indeed allowed.

The catch, of course, is that they must be accompanied by an equivalent Imperial-only height restriction sign that is either above or to the left of the metric-only sign.

A combined metric and Imperial height restriction sign is also allowed. Oddly enough, however, in this case the metric restriction is placed first (above the Imperial restriction).

So there we have it: a muddle within a muddle within a muddle.

Churchill’s words aptly describe the DfT: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma!

By: Martin Vlietstra

Martin Vlietstra — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:00:56 +0000

I had an instance when giving private Physics tuition to an AS Level student a few years ago when I asked him to convert his height (six foot) into metric units. I gave him a 300 mm/12 inch ruler and asked him what a foot was in metric units. Rather than read the conversion from the ruler, he measured his foot! It did not occur to him that there were 12 inches in a foot. I do not believe that this was an isolated incident.

By: Dave Brown

Dave Brown — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:06:33 +0000

If it it true what Mr Cairns says, that over half of our teenagers do not even know their own height in the international system of measurements then that is nothing short of a scandal. What do they learn during their childhood?

The future for our children will be in a globalized economy where they will need to compete and co-operate on equal terms with people from every corner of the world. If they can’t even communicate basic facts like how tall they are then the UK is going to become a very poor place to grow up, and UK employees are going to be the last choice to have on your global team.

By: Ezra Steinberg

Ezra Steinberg — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:10:22 +0000

Alexis quite right.

One other fact immediately demolishes the DfT’s argument that conversion is “too expensive”. There is a good chance that a very modern, internationally-minded President (Barak Obama) will take office next year with a Democratic majority in Congress.

If we here in the States succeed in starting a conversion program to metric (hopefully, a la Australia), which will include converting road signs, how long do you think the DfT will take before it decides the UK should adopt a sensible conversion program as well? Suddenly, the “it’s too expensive” argument will magically melt away, I’m quite certain!

By: Daniel Jackson

Daniel Jackson — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:04:51 +0000

If I’m not mistaken, there have been some communities that had erected dual unit height/width signs in the UK. Even though totally legal, a particular anti-metric group has painted out the metric portion. This act of vandalism should be illegal and the culprits severely prosecuted.

I wonder if there are any roads in the UK that have experienced a serious accident because of ignorance to feet-inch signs where there was a metric equivalent sign and it was either vandalized or removed.