Carleton, I fully agree with you. These metric equivalents, whatever they are, should indeed never be posted. The present limits should remain what they are, posted on the roads in mph only until the day of change arrives. But in printed matter, especially for visitors, metric limits as close to the present ones as possible can be used in my opinion until the limits go metric in tens of kilometers.
Han ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: U.S. Metric Association Sent: Monday, 2002-11-04 12:23 Subject: [USMA:23108] Re: Letter to the Editor In a message dated 2002-11-04 01:53:58 Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I have tried to explain, repeatedly, that things like 65 and 95 km/h should be temporary and that it should stop when the limits are changed at last. There are enough cops who would tag someone for going just over the limit. Nowadays many visitors come to Ireland on car ferries, large cruise liner like ships that carry hundreds of cars. There are car ferries between France and Ireland; many others take their cars through Britain. Yes, many visitors do take their cars to Ireland as car hire is very expensive there. So, it makes sense to keep as close to the legal speed limits as possible. To-day metric speed limit figures are only given for the benefit of visitors. If I had a car and took it to Ireland I would NOT do 100 km/h in a 60 mph zone, but I would keep the needle halfway between 90 and 100 km/h. It just does not touch Irish people now. When the limits are changed at last, all this 65 and 95 km/h business is over once and for all, when it is done sensibly, as I proposed in that letter. It was clearly stated there that the speed limits should be in tens of km/h as they are now in tens of mph. I do know, that in the USA there are 25 mph speed limit zones; I saw that often on TV. Han Not trying to speak for Ireland (my ancestry is out of Scotland via Newfoundland), but I think it would be confusing to establish any metric speed limit that will not be one that will ultimately be used when conversion is complete. As far as I know no one established metric speed limits that end in 5. The alternative limits should be set, right away, to the final values, and the enforced limits should be the higher of the two. Thus, if 60 mph becomes 100 km/h, that means you could go as fast as (about) 62.5 mph, but you'd better not go any faster than that. Any police officer that nitpicks the difference has probably been to the Sheriff Buford T. Justice School of Speed Trap Establishment, many of which we have here in the USA. To post one set of metric limits now, and another later, would confuse the public and give a negative view of the process. Here in the USA most speed limits in mph end in 5; speedometers often end in those values (25, 35, 45, etc.) for that reason. There are some exceptions of course. Carleton
