Jerry, Pat
Ireland had a problem that was not present in South Africa (and maybe not present in Australia - maybe Pat can help there). Prior to metrication, a South African speed limit sign consisted of a yellow rectangular board with a number on it (say 30) and a red circle above the board. AS part of the metrication process, the speed limit signs were brought into line with the international standard (though for some weird reason they used a blue field, a red border and a white number. In Ireland (and the United Kingdom) the 50 mph sign was identical to the French 50 km/h sign (apart possibly from the font). When the Irish did their conversion, the new signs were identical to the old, except that they had "km/h" below the numbers (see http://www.metric.org.uk/press/articles.aspx?ID=1) This made a one-day change-over absolutely necessary. _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Pat Naughtin Sent: 31 January 2009 19:38 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:42729] Re: REALLY using the SI On 2009/02/01, at 4:16 AM, Jeremiah MacGregor wrote: Is it true that Ireland just changed their signs 4 years ago? How are the people adapting? Any problems? Jerry Dear Jerry, The Irish people changed over to metric measures in one day. Let me repeat that: The Irish people changed over to metric only signs on all of their roads in a single day. I suspect that they borrowed heavily from the experience of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa who also conducted their road sign metric transitions on a single day. As far as I know the costs were minimal as all road signs have to be replaced anyway. There were many predictions of 'carnage on the roads' in all of these nations that simply, and obviously, did not take place. The change was smooth and readily accepted. Some folk chatted about the old speeds for a few days but that was the end of any 'adapting'. Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, Geelong, Australia Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> for more metrication information, contact Pat at [email protected] or to get the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter to subscribe.
