You need to write to them and ask them what all of this will mean come September when all speed limits on Irish roads are not only metricated, but converted to rounded metric values.
It sure would be foolish for someone to erect new signs now, only to have them changed again in a few months. I wonder if police cars will be updated right away. I'm sure the radar detectors will be. What about new cars being sold in Eire? Any appearing now with metric instrument panels? Euric ----- Original Message ----- From: "Han Maenen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, 2004-04-26 17:13 Subject: [USMA:29631] Permanent 50 mph speed on Irish road? > To-day this item was in the Irish Times. Some people in county councils > apparently don't know that something is going to happen in September. > > NRA against 50 mph limit on new dual carriageway > Liam Reid > > > The National Roads Authority (NRA) has criticised a decision by Wicklow > County Council to place a 50 miles per hour permanent speed limit on a new > ?90 million motorway/dual carriageway designed for speeds of up to 70 miles > per hour. > The decision was taken by the council because it was concerned that the 60 > m.p.h zone through the Glen of the Downs would be "too confusing" to > motorists by creating too many different speed zones along the N11. > The controversial five kilometre road, which opened late last year, has had > a temporary 40 m.p.h limit since it opened because of work being carried out > along the stretch. > A new 60 m.p.h limit along most of his length was due to be introduced, with > a short 40 m.p.h zone at one end of the road through Kilmacanogue village, > and another short 50 mile limit on a sharp bend at the southern end of the > road. > However, earlier this week Wicklow County Council introduced a new permanent > speed limit of 50 m.p.h along most of the road, with the 40 m.p.h zone > remaining through Kilmacanogue, which is less than the limit in place before > the new road. A spokeswoman for Wicklow County Council Ms Christine Flood > said the decision not to introduce a 60 m.p.h zone was taken almost > unanimously by Wicklow County Council last month. The councillors felt the > original proposal would see limits changing from 40 m.p.h to 60 m.p.h, to 50 > m.p.h and back to 60 m.p.h along a short five kilometre stretch. > "They felt it was too confusing for motorists, particularly in the era of > penalty points." The local superintendent in Bray also agreed with the > councillors. > However, Mr Michael Egan a spokesman for the NRA said it was "the > authority's view is that it was appropriate for the greater length of the > road to be subject to a 60 mile per hour limit". > "We conveyed that opinion to the County Council," he said. While the NRA has > an advisory role on speed limits on national routes, each local authority > has autonomy and responsibility for setting speed limits within its area, > within the national limit. > He said that while the NRA did not intend to get into "a head to head" > debate on the speed limit, it hoped that councillors would "review their > decision" and have the speed limit "changed accordingly". > "If a road is capable of taking traffic at 60 miles per hour, then it should > have the national speed limit," he said. The speed limits on dual > carriageways should not be reduced below the national limit of 60 m.p.h > unless there was a safety issue on a particular stretch, he said. > > > Han > Historian of Dutch Metrication, Nijmegen, The Netherlands > >
