All fine and dandy. But how do we get the damn AP
to stop converting (or attempting to convert) any
and all metric measurements that hit the
mainstream media? :) I *ALMOST* think that
little battle is heavier then the road signs. :)
At 21:43 2009-02-15, Victor Jockin wrote:
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: <mailto:[email protected]>Paul Trusten
Sent: 02/15/2009 8:47 PM
To: <mailto:[email protected]>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: <mailto:[email protected]>Brian J White
To: <mailto:[email protected]>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
