The following letter appeared in the Bucks Free Press around 16 months ago. I'll leave it to the other contributors to the board to judge the "pro-choice" credentials of the writer. http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/search/1868383.People_use_the_metric_system_only_when_forced/ People use the metric system only when forced Being in my thirties I was taught the metric system as the primary system of weights and measures at school. Sometimes exclusively so. This does not make me a member of a generation that does not use, or even dislikes, imperial. Outside the school gates and outside the science community I will generally (but not always) use imperial. Just like everyone else I know in all age ranges. In fact all opinion polls on the subject show a preference for, and a better understanding of, imperial over metric from every age group. Ironically, people tend to use metric only where they are forced to by uncalled for and unpopular legislation (which reminds me of an expression I once heard metric is so good they force us to use it'!). I could give examples where most people use imperial in favour of metric but the list is so long I'd rather not bore readers! Even the Government has said that changing Britain's roads to metric would needlessly cost us over £700,000,000 with the minister for transport saying, on BBC's Question Time, that he had received not one complaint by businesses or people regarding the use of imperial on UK roads. Britain also has the safest roads in Europe, with some studies showing the world. I'm not suggesting that the reason why Britain's roads are so safe is solely due to imperial, but I would question the small number of individuals who think that using imperial is old fashioned', non European', out of date', etc. Is it worth the loss of just one life caused by changing Britain's roads to a system of measures that the vast majority of people tend not to use or prefer and that would cost those same people £700,000,000 via taxes just to see signs bearing a measurement system they never asked for in the first place? Steve Humphreys, Loudwater
