” … it would not be appropriate to fix a date for converting speed limit and distance signs while there is still likely to be a significant proportion of drivers for whom the change could be potentially confusing.”

Well, what about the confusion for metric educated young adults who were never taught Imperial? Don’t they deserve some consideration also?

If the change is not going to happen for a long time to come things will only get worse.

Furthermore if the protracted delay means metric educated drivers gradually get used to imperial then they too will suffer the alledged confusion when the change finally happens.

If the change is going to happen at all (as it should for all the reasons given in the article and more) it must happen sooner rather than later. No sensible analysis can justify putting it off in the hope that some magical transformation will occur in the minds of the British driver.

Having said that, part of the devolution legislation states that devolved powers may be transferred to these countries if they are requested having been agreed on by the assembly in question.

In fact in Wales there is currently a move to ask for more powers to be devolved, this is supported by some parties in Cardiff and in Westminster. If the Welsh Assembly can agree on it in a vote a request will be made to Westminster who will then decide whether or not to devolve the powers.

Northern Ireland is interesting in that it shares a land border with a country that has metric road signage. There is also an interesting view that Sinn Fein, wishing to bring Northern Ireland closer to the Republic might consider metrication of road signage in Northern Ireland a small step in that direction and might wish to pursue it. Presumably that wouldn’t go down too well with Unionists in the assembly ??

Do the Scottish Executive, the Transport Directorate of the Welsh Assembly, and the Roads Service of the Department for Regional Development have the authority to replace distance and/or speed limit signs in Imperial with signs using only metric units? What are the issues and limitations associated with the scope of their authority in this regard?

I should have written that the safety argument in Northern Ireland would focus on speed limit signs with distance signs added in for the sake of consistency.

It has been argued by some in the past (as I recall) that a piecemeal approach to metricating road signs might “backfire” in the sense that, say, convincing the government in Northern Island to metricate road signs would take the pressure off the government in London to finish the job in the rest of the UK since the most forceful argument in terms of road safety would have been taken away.

Given how intransigent DfT and the government in London have been on this matter, I confess I am swayed by those (see Michael Glass’ post) who argue a “bottom up” approach that begins with, say, just distance signs (as Ireland did initially) and in the parts of the UK outside of England, with arguments tailored to each region (safety in Northern Ireland; language in Wales; local independence and perhaps promoting “forward thinking” in Scotland, etc.)

This would not be the first time a “divide and conquer” strategy leads to ultimate success!

The actual adhesive sign is but a small part of the total cost of a complete new sign (£100 in Portsmouth’s case). It should therefore be not too expensive to apply an adhesive km/h sign over the existing mph sign – I estimate a total cost of under £50 per sign, including labour. The ’stick-on’ solution is one I have always proposed as being fast and cost-effective, based on Canada’s experience. As new signs are made the same way (i.e. an adhesive sign on a metal plate), the finished result is no different – the km/h sign is simply applied over the existing mph sign.

The £1400 per sign that is usually trotted out is therefore utter nonsense (and my MP, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, and who therefore should know better, has actually trotted out an even higher figure when I wrote to him on this subject).

These 20 mph signs have proliferated quite a lot, and there must be many local councils who can supply the cost of the ones they have installed. If they were asked how much these costs were, ostensibly in finding how much your local council is spending on these signs, the answer might just be on the low side of their actual cost – which of course would be to our advantage.

The total cost of coverting the UK’s road signs to metruc will be mere petty cash when looked at the total cost of road taxes and highway expenditure, yet the economic case for completing metrication in the UK (and the US) cannot be ignored for much longer. We need to make our MPs (whoever they after the next election) fully aware of this.

Here was a classic example of the effect that the political establishment’s contradictory stance on metrication is having on education. With one breath they claim that a good knowledge of science and mathematics is vitally important to the future prosperity of the nation and yet they signal through their actions that the system of measurement used in educating the young in such subjects is not valued by society as a whole. It’s about time that government grasped the nettle and demonstrated that they were willing to forego political appeasement in favour of acting in the best interests of the country. Also, in the matter of metrication, they need ensure that they have far greater support from that most conservative and technophobic of institutions, the Civil Service.

Approach the Welsh Assembly Government and point out the advantage to the Welsh language of using metric distances. Ditto with the Scottish Parliament. Be flexible. Changing distances and changing speed limits would be desirable, but moving of one and not the other might be easier that moving for both to be moved at once.

Perhaps the DfT could take a page out of the Irish playbook and begin to convert distance signs to metric. However, if they did even that, they would be acknowledging (if only implicitly) a path to full conversion of all road signs. That clearly will not happen until a new government and a new minister at DfT are put in place.

Why should the UK remain so out of step in this regard compared to every other country in the EU? And has been pointed out elsewhere, both the Irish Republic and all Commonwealth countries other than the UK have already converted their road signs to metric.

We will have a fully metric road network one day, this has to happen eventually. Hopefully this will happen soon, not another 38 years from now.

Assuming that neither Labour nor the Conservatives win enough seats for a clear majority they will either need to rule as a minority or more likely form a coalition with a junior partner.

Let us assume that the most likely candidate for junior partner is the Liberal Democrats (fairly supportive of metrication). They will want a number of concessions from the other party if they are to offer their support.

I imagine that they will be in a strong position to request certain provisions – changes to voting system, senior cabinet post(s), university funding etc. What if they also demand that the government makes a statement that they will finally complete the process of metrication here in the UK ?

I don’t imagine that either Labour or the Conservatives would allow a possible coalition to collapse on such a demand. They would rather bite the bullet and form a coalition – it is not such a point of strong opinion in either party.

Therefore, could a hung parliament and a Lab-Lib or Con-Lib coalition result in progress in this area, I don’t think we could rule it out although pressure would perhaps need to be exerted on parties ?