>The gradual replacement of distance signs strategy was the way it was done >in Ireland. I believe it was planned to take 6 years but in the event it >took 8
The decision to metricate was made in 1992. The original deadline for road signs was 1995. Road speed signs were completed in early 2005; final elimination of the small remaining number of imperial distance signs is scheduled for end of 2005. Officially it took 13 years, although in reality it took less than three, once it was *really* decided to do something about it. >It is a useful way to minimise replacement costs but it does carry some risk >of confusion, unless speed limit signs normally have a units indication >(which they don't in the UK and Ireland). ... Just to clarify. They didn't before the switchover. They do now. The UK is, of course, different. Minimizing the replacement costs was the main reason why metric and imperial distance signs coexisted for so long. Effectively back sometime in the 90s, a decision was made that all *new* distance signs were to be in metric, and as signs were replaced due to wear they were replaced by metric ones, so by 2004 nearly all the signs that most people would see regularly were in metric. Once distance signs were widespread, it made a compelling argument to bring speed signs into the same measurements (since there is a higher safety factor here, it was not considered advisable to have a prolonged period of dual signs, even with the explicit units). This is why it is so important to get metric signs at least legal in the UK. That way, the waste of spending money on new imperial distance signs can be avoided, and the overall cost of metrication reduced. Of course the BWMA know this, which is why they will firmly oppose such legalization despite their normal argument that both should systems be allowed coexist. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Wade | EMail: tee dot wade at eurokom dot ie EuroKom | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696 A2, Nutgrove Office Park | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697 Rathfarnham | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer Dublin 14 | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !" Ireland
