Dear Ms Verona N� Bhroinn, Public Relations Officer Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas Leinster House, Dublin 2, Ireland
Dear Verona, I am writing to ask a small favor as I understand the your Parliament has recently been debating the metrication of speed limits. Could you please pass on, to the parliamentarians listed, the following brief information about the equivalent changes to Road Traffic Regulations in Australia. I believe that this information could be helpful in your current debate: Thank you, Pat Naughtin Geelong, Australia To: Mr Seamus Brennan, Minister for Transport >From Pat Naughtin, Geelong, Australia Copies: Mr Connaughton, Mr Deasy, Mr Naughten, Mr Eamon Ryan, and Ms Shortell. I am sending you a short extract from 'Metrication in Australia' by Kevin Wilks. This report was published by the Australian Government as the official report on 'Metrication in Australia'. You might find it interesting in the light of your current debate about road safety signs as the change in Australia was a very rapid and smooth operation. *** 'Road Traffic Regulations 'One of the most important and publicly visible of the metric changes was the change in road speed and distance signs and the accompanying change in road traffic regulations. M-day for this change was 1 July 1974 and, by virtue of careful planning, practically every road sign in Australia was converted within one month. This involved installation of covered metric signs alongside the imperial sign prior to the change and then removal of the imperial sign and the cover from the metric during the month of conversion. 'Except on bridge-clearance and flood-depth signs, dual marking was avoided. Despite suggestions by people opposed to metrication that ignorance of the meaning of metric speeds would lead to slaughter on the roads, such slaughter did not occur. 'A Panel for Publicity on Road Travel, representing the various motoring organisations, regulatory authorities and the media, planned a campaign to publicise the change, believing that public education, not the confusion that would result from dual sign posts, would be the most effective way of ensuring public safety. The resulting publicity campaign cost $200 000 and was paid for by the Australian Government Department of Transport. 'In addition, the Board produced 2.5 million copies of a pamphlet, "Motoring Goes Metric", which was distributed through post offices, police stations and motor registry offices. 'For about a year before the change, motor car manufacturers fitted dual speedometers to their vehicles and, after 1974 all new cars were fitted with metric-only speedometers. Several kinds of speedometer conversion kits were available. 'As a result of all these changes, conversion on the roads occurred without incident. 'Coordinated with the road change, tour guides, road maps and street atlases were produced in metric and, of course, traffic regulations in each State were amended to metric measurements. 'The opportunity was also taken to change the design of road signs to conform to internationally recognised standards. 'The change to metric on the roads quickly led to changes in the units used by motor car enthusiasts and engine power in kilowatts (kW) quickly replaced horsepower and newton metres (Nm) replaced foot pounds as the unit of torque. The kilometre, though mispronounced kilom'etre more often than not, soon become the unit of distance and the 'k', as in "doing 100 k", became the jargon for kilometre. 'After consideration of all aspects, the litre per hundred kilometres (L/100 km) was adopted as the preferred unit of fuel consumption. This was the system most frequently used in metric countries. The arithmetical process was neither harder nor easier than that of calculating miles per gallon or kilometres per litre and was more universally meaningful. As it is a compound unit, the public has found this a more difficult conversion to which to adjust than miles to kilometres or gallons to litres. 'Claimed fuel consumption was stated in L/100 km by all Australian motor car manufacturers and its use as a unit was gradually established.' Cheers Pat Naughtin 48 Roberts Road Belmont, Geelong 3216 Australia
