[article] Metric Speed Converters For All!

mike65

from unison

THE Government is to issue every motorist with a 'ready reckoner' to help them cope with the changeover to metric speed and distance signs.

It will be possible to put the at-a-glance guide on the dashboard or windscreen in the driver's line of sight.

The guide is understood to have been favoured over a kilometer-based plastic insert on miles-per-hour speedometers.

Judging by a major new survey, the convertor will be badly needed.

The RAC Ireland study found that only one-in-seven drivers (15pc) came anywhere close to being able to convert 70kmph* into miles per hour.

According to the RAC authors, there were widely diverging answers to the question.

The lowest figure was 30mph while three motorists believed that 70kmph is equivalent to more than 100mph.

As miles per hour is the predominant measurement on the vast majority of cars, the RAC findings underline how comprehensive an information campaign will be needed.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan has committed himself to a multi-million euro blitz for what will be one of the biggest logistical and educational operations in the history of the state.

The new system has to be working by January 1 next but there are growing expectations the minister may decide to start it around a month earlier.

In effect drivers will have a completely new speed and sign regime overnight. It is understood the signs - 58,000 in all - have already been produced.

It is planned to have them erected but covered prior to the start, and uncovered close to the time. At least, that is how it is planned at this stage.

The new speed limits are: non-national roads 80kmh (a drop of 10mph), national roads 100kmh 62.5 (up 2.5mph), 120kmh on motorways (nearly 75mph); trucks will be allowed 90kmh on dual carriageways (56.2mph up from 50mph) and local authorities can bring in 30kmh limits near schools etc.

One of the reasons the ready-reckoner is favoured is that there are only a few speed limits.

But the RAC survey shows that while most motorists (88pc) know about the impending change, they are at a serious disadvantage in trying to make the conversion.

The survey, of 400 motorists in the Dublin area, also found that drivers support the penalty points system - even if they are in danger of falling foul of it when road signs go metric.

* The correct answer is 43.5mph.

What a load of balls! You dont need to be able to convert speed only to look at your speedo. I'll just use a small white marker to indicate the main speed limits.

Mike.

Mike.

seamus

mike65 wrote:

What a load of balls! You dont need to be able to convert speed only to look at your speedo. I'll just use a small white marker to indicate the main speed limits.

Remember though that this is Complaining Ireland
A minority of speedos don't have the km/h gradient on them. The rest of the people will just use it as an excuse to bitch and moan about the small writing and about how awful it is that the Government is making them do this. If you can't read the gradient, then you shouldn't be driving on the road with that poor eyesight. If you can't remember some simple numeric relations (e.g. 40mph ~ 65Km/h) then that's your problem, not the Government's.

Irish people don't like change, and they like to bitch and moan about it, but then assimilate it extremely quickly. Just look at the euro changeover.

Zaph0d

What is the new urban speed limit to replace 30mph?
Will it be 50kph?

mackerski

Jeebus, there we were worrying about the cost of the new signs and it turns out they're spending my hard-earned on plastic knick-knacks too? So to avoid the distraction of having to read your km/h speed off the scale provided in your car you can have a butchers at the log tables instead? Brilliant.

I see the reckoner is also designed to ease our transition to metric distance signs too. That'll be handy for those of us who've been doing without since the early 80s...

Dermot

MG

The majority of people don't seem to look at their speedometers at all or know the speed limits anyway so I don't think there will be any problem.

Capt'n Midnight

The new speed limits are: non-national roads 80kmh (a drop of 10mph), national roads 100kmh 62.5 (up 2.5mph), 120kmh on motorways (nearly 75mph); trucks will be allowed 90kmh on dual carriageways (56.2mph up from 50mph) and local authorities can bring in 30kmh limits near schools etc.

It's not often you see a truck driving at 50mph on a dual carrigeway, but anyway ..
What's going to happen to 40mph ???
Most of the link roads in the city are 40mph as are junctions with roundabouts and traffic lights.

mackerski

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

What's going to happen to 40mph ???

60km/h

...except on streches that get reviewed up to 80km/h (place your bets on for the N11 around Belfield)

This is going to be very taxing on some of the straight and empty suburban link roads where 40mph is already a bit strict.

Still, it's nothing like the stupidity of restricting not-quite-motorway dual-carriageways to 100km/h.

Dermot