One of the errors was mine. I mistyped 20 instead of 30 km/h. Other remarks throughout the message, preceded by an *. As for the use of scales in general in Ireland: in many cases modern digital scales are used. The old analog type is on the way out.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Mighty Chimp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, 2003-11-01 18:07 Subject: [USMA:27383] Re: Irish Road signs This article is full of errors k.p.h. should be km/h 19 miles per hour should be 30 km/h You say that carpet is priced in euros per square yard. But, is it measured and sold that way? Imperial pricing does not mean the actual sale is done that way. * I think that it is also measured and sold that way, but the answer of that question might be given by Irish members of this list. Anyway, the authorities can not go on tolerating these antics by the carpet and tiles trades for long. As for butchers, metric pricing can be made to appear cheaper then imperial if the 100 g unit is used and not the kilogram. * A few years ago, an anti-metric article appeared in the Dublin evening newspaper the Evening Herald, supporting the butchers who continued to price in imperial only. Now most of them price dually, some in hard metric (500 g, 1000 g), some in soft metric, (454 g, 907 g - silly really). As for the street markets, you may be correct. A good way to enforce conversion would be to outlaw any new scale from being either imperial or dual. And any scale returned for repair would have to be converted before it is resold. Scales returned from lease would also be subject to the same conversion. Once it is assured that it is impossible to purchase or replace an old imperial scale with anything but a metric one, the inspectors can then start to inspect the market scales for accuracy. They can refuse to authorise the continued use of such old scales on the grounds that they are not accurate and the customer is being cheated. They would be forced to replace the old ones with new ones and the new ones would only be metric. > BTW, what happens if you go to those markets and ask for a metric amount of something? Say for instance 300 g of peaches. What would they do? * Either of two things are done: you get 11 ounces. Or, in many cases, however, peaches etc., are not sold by weight but like this: 1 peach for 15 eurocents, or 6 peaches for 90 eurocents. The same holds good for many other fruits, salads, celery etc. I did a search for IAML and Irish anti metric league, and a few other variations. They appear not to have a website. I'm sure their threat is weak as you say, but still something to keep an eye on. * This internet address, which I also mentioned in the original addres should land you on the page of the IAML. http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/iaml/ I found it on the BWMA site, on their links page. What else can you tell us about Ireland? * Road metrication isto be completed during the summer of next year. This is not a stand-alone undertaking. Speed limits all over the country will be rationalized as well. At present there are low speed limits of about 65 km/h on very good roads, even dual carriageways (these are often police speed traps), while some of the bad country roads have speed limits of about 95 km/h. The limit on the motorways will be increased to 120 km/h. I will be in the thick of it! Every year I spend about 4 to 5 summer weeks in Ireland. No 30 degrees and beyond, although I got that in vile abundance in August, when I was back home. I even plan to go for a week in the end of February, to Dublin and Galway. Active resistance to metrication as is the case in Britain is largely absent. I have not even read Letters to the Editor in the Irish Times pro or contra road metrication. If Britain decided to go metric on the roads, the newspapers would overflow with letters. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, 2003-10-28 15:41 Subject: [USMA:27378] Re: Irish Road signs Dear Mighty Chimp, There have been some items in the Irish Times, a quality newspaper about road metrication, also on its Intermet version. However, it is a paid service. I have not yet seen a website dedicated to Irish road metrication, but a site might be set up soon, as it will be preceded by an information campaign. >From the Irish Times, October 7 last: Change to kilometres on roads will be like 'mini-euro' Christine Newman A changeover from miles to kilometres on roads, described by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, yesterday as a "mini-euro" and a huge logistical operation, is due to be completed by next September. The Minister was commenting on recommendations by a specialist group which was set up to review speed limits in the light of new road-safety considerations and the proposed switch to metric limits. A spokesman for the Minister said that, after a weekend of so many road deaths, questions had been asked as to why the speed limit was to be put up in the case of motorways and dual-carriageways. The group recommended raising the speed limit on motorways from the current 70 m.p.h. to 74.5 m.p.h., a figure which corresponds to 120 k.p.h. The spokesman said that the speed limit on these roads would only be put up by about four miles to round it off for metric purposes. There were about 96,000 kilometres of roads, and of that only 6,000 were national roads i.e. motorways and dual-carriageway. The majority of all the other roads were country and local roads. Outside the motorways and dual-carriageways, the actual speed limits were coming down to 50 m.p.h. "These are the roads where, according to studies, the most fatalities occur. Most of the really bad accidents happen there, and do not happen on motorways and dual-carriageways," he said. The review group was asked to look at the change from kilometres to miles (transposition error), and look at how the adaptation could best be made. The group also recommended that speed limits on the State's roads should be lowered to less than 19 miles per hour (Comment: that is 30 km/h) in special cases, such as outside schools. He said the reason the changeover would take until September was that local authorities would have to review their speed signs. This was the side of the changeover that was going to take time. The local authorities were going to have to see what was needed, and then make proposals. Then the signs would have to be made. Meanwhile, he said there would be a build-up of public information on the changeover from miles to kilometres. The Minister had called it a "mini-euro". On one day in September the changeover would have to be completed. Logistically, it was a huge operation. � The Irish Times As for scales: in shops they are metric. Butchers have been most resistant to metric pricing, but they are giving in now. Metric pricing has been compulsory by law in Ireland since March last. The carpet trade and the tile trade still price in euros per square yard only, because of the 'cheaper look' of such pricing. At least, they did so last summer, when I was in Ireland. Market stalls are overwhelmingly non-metric. I have not seen even one metric scale on the Henry Street market in Dublin city centre. They use very old weighing devices with equally old imperial weights. These will have to replaced sooner or later as they become more unreliable as time goes by. I think that the street markets are left alone for some time because the government may not want to create Metric Martyrs. An anti-metric organization, the Irish Anti-Metric League (IAML) is active, but it seems to be very small.. The URL is http://www.angelfire.com/ok4/iaml/ Han ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mighty Chimp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, 2003-10-27 3:33 Subject: [USMA:27307] Irish Road signs I have been hearing that the Irish are finally going to convert their speed signs to metric sometime around June or September of 2004. I have not seen in print any "official" news release. If anyone here knows anything about Irish conversion, can someone direct me to a website where an official statement details the final conversion of road signs? I also understand there has been a notification sent to the automobile manufacturers indicating the requirement that new autos have metric speedometer and odometer instrumentation. Is this correct? When will the first metric (referring to the speedometer/odometer unit) automobile be available in Eire, anyone know? One more thing. What is the situation regarding the metrication of scales in Eire? Is the conversion complete, or is it stuch inneutral? Do the Irish use modern digital scales, or the old-fashioned analog type? Thanks, Euric
