Is it necessary to switch all road signs in the US and UK from imperial to metric?

I agree that a singular worldwide system of measurement would be better in general, its just that the cost of conversion for the countries not on SI is prohibitive especially in the current economy.

Hence the "but meh" :lol:
 
I agree that a singular worldwide system of measurement would be better in general, its just that the cost of conversion for the countries not on SI is prohibitive especially in the current economy.

I don't think it would cost all that much really for Burma and Liberia :D
 
Well, I think the UK and US will eventually switch to metric, if anything because it's far more diffused and standardized. But it will take time. muuuuuuuch time.

The problem is you can't gradually switch, everything would have to be changed at once. That's never going to happen.
 
There's no reason you can't do a transition over a long period of time. Start with double measurements on the weather forecasts for instance. Your cars already have double standard speedometers no? Add kmh to old signs. On new cars a switch between miles and kilometers are just one byte away. Add kilometer signs to road signs. Wait a decade, then gradually retire the old imperial measurements.

Gradual phase over ftw?
 
Start with double measurements on the weather forecasts for instance.
Those are already metric

Your cars already have double standard speedometers no?
Not for many of them no.

Add kmh to old signs.
So your plan is to replace every single speed based road sign in the UK TWICE, once to double and then again to km. Why bother.

No one in the UK really cares that much, but the more the (predominantly European) heard of people try to pressure us into changing, the less likely it will happen.
 
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There's no reason you can't do a transition over a long period of time. Start with double measurements on the weather forecasts for instance. Your cars already have double standard speedometers no? Add kmh to old signs. On new cars a switch between miles and kilometers are just one byte away. Add kilometer signs to road signs. Wait a decade, then gradually retire the old imperial measurements.

Gradual phase over ftw?

You would have to move all the signs for distance to exits for instance. 1 mile, 1/2 mile are nice and round in a sense, going to kms you would have to move them to something like 2km and 1km distances.
Dick measurements sound much more impressive in centimetres than in inches.
Now there is a first decent argument that I have seen for SI move :)
 
I thought you were american. Then you've already come a few steps on the road. I never used the word replace. Nor do you need to add the speed limit to every single road sign. Adding kilometers to the big roads first would make the most sense as it's the most used by european traffic, then one could continue with medium roads. This should make the population comfortable with kmh and then whenever a sign needs replacing due to wear, you change it to kilometers. Easy. Ireland achieved this in under 35 years.

I doubt many people in Britain today are driving around in cars made before the 1st of april 1984. In 30 years from now, almost no one will.

The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 said:
Save as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), every motor vehicle shall be fitted with a speedometer which, if the vehicle is first used on or after 1st April 1984, shall be capable of indicating speed in both miles per hour and kilometres per hour, either simultaneously or, by the operation of a switch, separately.

You would have to move all the signs for distance to exits for instance. 1 mile, 1/2 mile are nice and round in a sense, going to kms you would have to move them to something like 2km and 1km distances.
You're right about that. Work for the unemployed!
 
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As someone who has lived through most of Australia's Metrication, I'd have to say that it all seemed pretty painless.

Even the daunting task of changing all the road signs was completed in a single month (July 1974).

The whole process started in 1972 (or thereabouts) and was mostly finished by 1978. From memory, the last group to change to metric was the real estate industry in 1988. It is funny though how some uses of imperial measures just won't die. New parents today, who have known nothing but metric measures their whole life, still publish their newborn child's weight in pounds and ounces even though they would have no idea what they themselves weigh in stones and pounds.
 
I find it interesting how the UK uses stones and pounds, but the US uses exclusively pounds. Whenever stones get mentioned, I still have to multiply the measurement by 14 for it to mean anything to me.
 
I find it interesting how the UK uses stones and pounds, but the US uses exclusively pounds. Whenever stones get mentioned, I still have to multiply the measurement by 14 for it to mean anything to me.

I had no fucking clue what stones were in relation to pounds until just now :)
 
Despite my irrational love for God's measurement system (U.S. Imperial), I don't see a gradual metrification to be all that hard. Our cars over here already have both measurements on our speedometers.
 
The whole process started in 1972 (or thereabouts) and was mostly finished by 1978. From memory, the last group to change to metric was the real estate industry in 1988. It is funny though how some uses of imperial measures just won't die. New parents today, who have known nothing but metric measures their whole life, still publish their newborn child's weight in pounds and ounces even though they would have no idea what they themselves weigh in stones and pounds.
And also televisions. Why, years ago, my family bought a 68cm Teac CRT TV. The measurement in inches was not advertised. This year, I bought a 46" Panasonic plasma. The measurement in centimetres was not advertised. For some odd reason, all flat screens are measured in inches, and CRTs are in cm.
 
^ I guess wheels and tyres are the other things that are still in inches. Well, the diameters anyway, the width is in millimeters. This isn't peculiar to us though, seems most of the metric world does the same thing. :dunno:
 
I doubt many people in Britain today are driving around in cars made before the 1st of april 1984. In 30 years from now, almost no one will.

Says nothing about the equality of the measurement. Many cars have a dial in mph and a display somewhere buried in the menus for kmph.
 
^ I guess wheels and tyres are the other things that are still in inches. Well, the diameters anyway, the width is in millimeters. This isn't peculiar to us though, seems most of the metric world does the same thing. :dunno:
I was thinking that, rim and tire diameter are in inches and width in mm (save for muscle car tires they had inches)
Says nothing about the equality of the measurement. Many cars have a dial in mph and a display somewhere buried in the menus for kmph.
? Not sure what you mean here, my speedo (and indeed every single one I seen) has MPH on the outside ring and KMPH on the inside ring, for Euro spec cars I seen its just reversed with MPH being on the inside ring, no menus or anything.
 
they should adapt time so it's base 10! 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes in an hour, 100 seconds in a minute

that would be nice...
 
Not sure what you mean here, my speedo (and indeed every single one I seen) has MPH on the outside ring and KMPH on the inside ring, for Euro spec cars I seen its just reversed with MPH being on the inside ring, no menus or anything.

That's the standard way of doing it, but there are all sorts of weird variations.
 
mmmh... now that I think about it... rims are in inches here, but tyres are in mm (except for the rim size, of course), and televisions and computer monitors are in inches too! (every one of them). Things are getting complicated... Still, I'm sure the SI will get the standard for everyone in the long (very long) run.
 
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