In an apparent admission that cycle route signs showing distances in miles are not meaningful to cyclists, the Department for Transport is proposing to allow authorities the option of using signs that show journey times in hrs and mins instead of distances in miles and fractions of miles.
Archive for the ‘Transport’ Category
Chaos comes to National Cycle Network signs
Friday, October 9th, 2009Traffic Signs Review produces INACTION plan
Friday, June 26th, 2009The Transport Department’s current review of traffic signs has so far avoided any mention of the “m” word and is likely to be a failure. UKMA has therefore produced its own proposals.
End Britain’s Great Imperial Rip-Off
Saturday, November 1st, 2008In these uncertain times, the spending power of the pound in our pockets seems to be decreasing by the day, making it high time, in my view, to end the Great Imperial Rip-Off, and save British consumers from the cost of maintaining imperial weights and measures. (Article contributed by Tony)
Metric campaigners unimpressed by poll findings
Friday, August 1st, 2008The UK Metric Association dismissed as “unrepresentative and old hat” the findings of an AA/Populus panel, showing that a large majority of AA members are opposed to metric road signs in the UK. (This press release was issued for use after 00:01 on Saturday, 2 August 2008).
All distances on London pedestrian signs to be shown in “minutes”
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008According to Legible London, an initiative led by Transport for London, all existing pedestrian direction signs in London will be replaced by 2015 with new wayfinding signs. The enamelled monolith-style signs will have maps as well as directions and distances in “minutes”.
Vehicle fuel efficiency – units matter
Friday, June 27th, 2008An article published on the Guardian web site on 20 June describes US research on the public perception of vehicle fuel efficiency in relation to the units used.
Police and Network Rail call for metric signs
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008An incident on 17 June, in which a foreign lorry struck a low bridge near Cannock, the third such incident since April, has prompted the police and Network Rail to call for metric signs to be shown on all bridges in the area.
UK pays the cost of failure to implement the Vienna Convention
Thursday, April 17th, 2008The Department for Transport (DfT) continues to ignore the clear advantages of the adoption of the international norms for road signage, namely the use of metric units, while potentially preventable accidents occur on our roads.
Metres and yards – now interchangeable?
Thursday, January 31st, 2008A reader of Metric Views has drawn our attention to a paragraph in the DfT Traffic Signs Manual that allows distances shown as ‘yards’ on some traffic signs to be measured in metres. We wonder if this idea on interchangeability has spread beyond the DfT.
Speeding – it’s all in the mind
Monday, January 7th, 2008The US web site METRICation US has an amusing story about a speeding Irish driver whose fine was reduced when he convinced the Judge that his speed in km/h sounded higher than it was.
The full story is to be found at: Â http://www.metrication.us/content/crazy-judgeÂ