I prefer to look at it another way, like rocks on a scale, metric vs. imperial.
Road signs weigh more than all other rocks combined, so they would pull most
everything else along with it, even if changed in relative isolation as part of
an executive order and outside of a coordinated national plan for conversion.
Manufacturers and DOTs would need no further legal directives to change (though
some notice would be nice) because they would have no alternative but to adapt.
And critically, public language would change with the signs, without any
further directives, coordination, or public education. No more miles in
stories about NASA or anything else, without us having to dutifully write our
letters to journalists.
In short, road signs win the war. And here's the part that gives me a glimmer
of hope: just one person, a president, can win it for us (provided he is not
obstructed by Congress, and that existing legal restrictions can be removed).
That's just a far more likely scenario for us than a renewed national movement
for change, like it's 1968 again.
There is certainly precedent for this limited approach: G.H.W. Bush's executive
order for the metrication of federal agencies. That failed because (a) the
logistics and bureaucracy of changing was far more complicated and
multi-faceted than just changing road signs, (b) opponents of metrication hired
lobbyists and proponents did not, but most importantly his whole plan was
flawed because (c) they're little rocks. Bush thought the government would tip
the scales for the country, but the department of the interior reporting quake
data in metric units or states contracting for road work in metric units is not
going to tip anything, or change public language. News agencies just convert
any such results to miles and feet before reporting them. Why? Road signs.
And if the road signs had been changed and the department of the interior had
never been directed to use metric units, would they be reporting quake depths
in miles? Of course not. Nobody would know what they are. No coordinated
action needed.
I'd love to see a coordinated, comprehensive national initiative for change.
It's by far the best way for us to prevail, but also one of the least likely.
From: Paul Trusten
Sent: 02/15/2009 8:47 PM
To: U.S. Metric Association
Subject: [USMA:43021] Re: More companies primed to pounce on metric-only
labeling
Changing road signs can only be a small part of metrication. What about the
speedometers, odometers, driver training, federal and state traffic
regulations, statements of the heights of tractor trailers in meters so the
drivers will understand the meters-only clearance signs that will replaces the
ones that now read in feet? If there are jobs to be held for metrication, they
will be created in many areas of our lives, and each metric transition must be
coordinated with the others. There will be jobs in signage, sure, but there
will also be jobs in writing new regulations, jobs providing metric training,
jobs in designing new products or changes in old products. Once the Nation's
leadership makes the decision to go metric, all of these things will follow,
e.g., there would be a DOT requirement that, by a certain date, all vehicles
made in the U.S. will display speedometers that read in kilometers per hour
only, and odometers that accumulate kilometers only. Metrication is all or
nothing. It's a life process; a living thing.
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian J White
To: U.S. Metric Association
Sent: 15 February, 2009 22:29
Subject: [USMA:43020] Re: More companies primed to pounce on metric-only
labeling
What gets me about sign changing, is...whatever happened to the DOT
requirement that cars must be sold with both km/h and mph on the speedo?
Mercedes over the past 3-4 years seems to be getting away without it...they
are mph only it looks like.
I know GM has numbers only with a legend that switches between mph and km/h,
but the Mercedes cars look to be mph only all the time. Makes for a suck time
when driving to Canada I'm sure.
My wife's old Honda Civic (I hated that car.) had both mph and km/h markings,
but only MPH illuminated at night. Talk about a bozo design feature right
there..... I tried to talk you out of the Honda again Nat, but to no avail.
:)
At 19:36 2009-02-15, STANLEY DOORE wrote:

The NIST has drafted legislation to provide for metric only product
labeling. If Congress would pass it and the President sign it, there would be
a great move to go all metric.
If ALL people would contact their Congressional representatives, then
perhaps something would happen. No single organization can do it alone.
However, most companies want to go metric and many already have gone metric
like the auto industry has.
With the current stimulus bill recently passed and it's called a jobs
bill, it would be appropriate to have all road signs changed to metric very
quickly.
Stan Doore
