On 26/02/06 7:28 AM, "Bill Hooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I went to that web site and noticed a "metric quiz" I could take. What a farce > ! ! ! > > Even though it began with some statement about testing how well you know the > metric system, the quiz had virtually nothing to do with metric. It was almost > entirely about how to convert from olde English units to metric units or vice > versa. I know how long a kilometre is but I could not answer the question that > asked how many kilometres there are in a nautical mile. And if I could, I > would not claim that as "having a knowledge of the metric system". Dear Bill, I wrote to the 'Saturday Metro' to comment on the debate about metric road signs in the UK. Here is what I wrote: ## >From my perspective in Australia, it's hard to consider the question of UK road signs without laughing out loud. Australia upgraded to metric road signs on a single Sunday in 1974. There were no road deaths. There were no additional accidents. People who had worried about this change were cautious for a day or two, accepted that a change had taken place, and then got on with their lives. In New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa they did the same thing; they upgraded to metric road signs in a single day. In my opinion, the problems with UK road signs are not about the metric system at all. They are about poor choices of the methodology needed to make the change smoothly, safely, and rapidly. We all know that UK roads are measured with gravel in millimetres, road widths in metres, and road lengths in kilometres. Then, some insist that all of these real figures be dumbed down to preserve measurement words that were used in the past. It's no wonder that Australians laugh about it ## Cheers, Pat Naughtin PO Box 305, Belmont, Geelong, Australia Phone 61 3 5241 2008 Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online monthly newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by going to http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter
