> Of Stephen Gallagher >Do Irish and British cars currently display a dual >speedometer (large MPH and small km/h)
The short answer for the UK is 'yes'. They display a dual speedometer with large digits for mph on an outer scale and small digits for km/h on an inner scale. It is exactly the same as you see on many US cars. Ireland will almost certainly be the same as the UK because speedometers are dealt with in an EU directive. The directive requires that all speedometers are capable of displaying metric units. Where countries apply speed limits in imperial units (i.e. UK and Ireland), the regulations in that country must require that speedometers must also be capable of displaying imperial units. There is no requirement to display both at the same time (this permits electronic displays that can be switched between imperial and metric). There is no requirement for mph digits to be bigger than km/h digits. The digits are merely required to be legible. As I understand it. Chris Keenan has looked into this issue in detail for the UK, so he may correct me. I understand that from January 2005, speedometers on new Irish cars will be km/h only. I understand that there is a reasonable trade in cars between the Northern Ireland and the Republic, particularly because of price differences.
