I note that a certain pro-imperial UK contributor to the site has made many statements about life in the UK. When challenged, he claims that his version of events is true. I intend to demonstrate that it's possible to write an article that is completely, totally & utterly true, but gives a completely misleading impression of the real situation. On this site, and others, it is generally believed that speed limits on UK roads are expressed & signed in miles per hour . Some even state that a sign expressing a speed limit in kilometres per hour would be illegal. It has been realised, however, that various classses of vehicles on UK roads are equipped with speedometers that only indicate in metric measure. Obviously this includes some foreign-registered vehicles that are temporarily imported into the UK, but also includes a fast increasing number of public service vehicles that are specifically constructed for use in the UK. As a result, the UK Government has authorised the use of signs showing speed limits in kilometres per hour. These signs are currently mainly in use in major cities like London, Manchester, Sheffield & Nottingham, but their use may soon spread to other cities (like Edinburgh & Liverpool). The kilometre per hour signs are not confined totally to cities, however. They can also be seen on public roads in small towns like Blackpool & Fleetwood, and out in the countryside between these two towns. And it's not as if the signs are confined to city centres either! In Manchester, they appear as far north as Bury, as far west as Eccles & as far south as Altrincham - that's pretty much city-wide. The signs can easily be distinguished from miles per hour speed limit signs, as they have been given a unique shape. The UK government is convinced that this shape will be recognised as a kilometre per hour speed limit sign by users. They are so convinced, that they have not bothered marking "km/h" or "kph" or similar on the signs, They feel that a plain "30" without reference to a unit suffices to warn drivers that the speed limit is 30km/h. The signs are becoming more & more common up & down the UK. Can anyone else recall seeing them?
