The UK Metric Association (UKMA) welcomes today’s announcement by the government of an attack on unnecessary sign clutter, but believes that some obvious targets have been missed: in particular, the Department for Transport’s requirements for local authorities to use multiple obsolete units on our road signs.
Archive for the ‘Transport’ Category
Sign clutter campaign misses obvious target
Friday, August 27th, 2010‘Rebalancing of the UK economy’ postponed?
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010Metric Views has learned that the coalition government may drop the proposed amendments to road traffic sign regulations, which would have required dual signage of height and width restrictions within four years and which would have achieved savings and improvements in efficiency for the UK economy in the long term.
DfT prefers imperial units to pedestrian safety
Friday, July 9th, 2010Signs indicating the emergency escape routes in tunnels are of critical importance to the safety of tunnel users, given the particular hazards of fire and smoke within tunnel environments. Sadly, the government’s irrational position on units of measure even extends to these safety critical signs, as illustrated by the different units being used by the same authority on adjacent tunnels.
60 km Jubilee Greenway to be signed in imperial
Friday, June 11th, 2010On 9th June 1977, the Queen officially opened the Silver Jubilee Walkway, a 21 km walking trail around central London to mark her Silver Jubilee, or 25 years on the throne. Thirty-three years later, work is under way to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a new 60 km walking trail, the Jubilee Greenway, providing walkers with a kilometre to walk for every year of the Queen’s reign.
DfT imperialists waste more taxpayers’ money
Monday, April 5th, 2010The Department for Transport, who once described metrication of road signs as “a waste of taxpayers’ money”, have themselves been condemned by a House of Commons Select Committee for wasting £71 million on building 66 motorcycle testing stations in order that learner motorcyclists can take the manoeuvring elements of the driving test at the requisite 50 km/h (kilometres per hour), which would be illegal on quiet residential roads in urban areas where tests used to be conducted in the UK. (more…)
Crazy proposal to raise speed limits above speed limiter settings
Friday, April 2nd, 2010As a bizarre consequence of the failure to switch to metric speed limits, the Department for Transport (DfT) is proposing to raise the motorway speed limit of coaches and buses from 60 mph (96.6 km/h) to 65 mph (104.6 km/h). That’s 4.6 % faster than the 100 km/h maximum speed that their speed limiters allow.
Imperial confusion on new tunnel signs
Friday, March 26th, 2010Transport for London (TfL) was today criticised by the UK Metric Association (UKMA) for bungling the erection of new signs at the Rotherhithe tunnel, including banning all vehicles over 33 inches long from using the tunnel – and for wasting up to £6000 on erecting or amending new signs that will soon be obsolete.
Is the DfT part of the Government?
Friday, March 5th, 2010The Transport Department’s refusal to comply with Government policy on metrication is the biggest remaining obstacle to completing the metric changeover. But how can the DfT defend this example of non-joined-up government?
Why do nautical miles linger on?
Friday, January 1st, 2010I recently had an exchange of correspondence with an acquaintance (a former RAF pilot) who tried to explain to me why most of the world of aviation still uses nautical miles and knots rather than kilometres and km/h. The explanation went like this.
Electric cars – an opportunity for SI, or a threat?
Friday, December 4th, 2009The arrival of electric cars on our streets will draw attention to measures for comparing performance.