Ireland ends speed quirk (new metric speed limits)

[bin.dare]

Thursday January 20, 2005
The Guardian

It is a quirk which has befuddled motorists visiting Ireland for many years. Distance signs are measured in kilometres - but speed limits have always been displayed in miles per hour.
The anomaly will finally be removed today when the government uncovers 58,000 new road signs and begins enforcing a new set in kph.

The change, costing €11m (£7.5m), has prompted fears of chaos and confusion as motorists struggle to get to grips with a new set of laws.
...

The switch will leave Britain as the only European country to measure road speeds in miles rather than kilometres per hour.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1394213,00.html

[Taxloss]

1. Rule, Britannia, Brittannia waives the rules!

We shall Never. Abandon. Our imperial road signs.

/churchill

[NorthernSpy]

2. Boo!

Death to the metric system! We must not let this kind of thing happen here.

[bin.dare]

3. twelve pennies equal one shilling, twenty shillings equal ...

... one pound. not to mention furlongs and stones. That metric system is toooooooo dastardly rational.

[dbt]

4. Not to worry.

Ireland will develop at least three more quirks to replace the one they have just ended.

Slainte!

:loveya:
dbt

[Nihil]

5. That should boost the income from speeding fines!

The little 10mph drop in the default national speed limit should catch
a good number of people who drive at the same speed as before without
actually watching the speedometer and comparing the figures to the new
signs. Boost that income stream!

Don't Eire drive on the left still? What I'm waiting for is the
decision to "unify with the rest of Europe" and drive on the right ...
should make the border crossings to the North even more interesting!

:-)