Road Signs: Time to change to Metric?

[skippyfox]

Originally Posted by Rustyfrog

Going totally metric......

How about going the whole hog and perhaps change to driving on the right?
Just like Sweden did in 1997.

Attachment 131364

Now that would make an interesting drive to work on the day of the change over....

Could always phase things in over a couple of days though..

[Baxlin]

Originally Posted by Rustyfrog

Going totally metric......

How about going the whole hog and perhaps change to driving on the right?
Just like Sweden did in 1997.

Attachment 131364

Why? We’re an island nation, so there are no awkward change-overs at the border, and all our infrastructure is built around driving on the correct side of the road. A horrendously expensive and IMO pointless exercise to change.

And yes, I have driven quite a bit ‘on the right’, having lived abroad for a year, and I do find it quite intuitive. Quite enjoy it in fact. So no ‘nimby’ blindness, just economics, and the fact that we have far more important things to spend money on........

[Rustyfrog]

I was in Bahrain in 1967 when they changed from left to right.
We in the forces were told not to drive that day.

I drive quite a lot in Spain (not this year) and find it is surprisingly easy to adapt after a couple of days of being careful!

Re. the metric thing.... I would prefer either one or the other rather than a combination of both.

[EssexExile]

Originally Posted by Rustyfrog

Going totally metric......

How about going the whole hog and perhaps change to driving on the right?
Just like Sweden did in 1997.

Attachment 131364

I wish you'd told me about that earlier. I drove in Sweden in 1972 and drove on the right the whole time.

[Baxlin]

Originally Posted by Rustyfrog

I was in Bahrain in 1967 when they changed from left to right.
.

That’s where I spent my year abroad, but in 1970/71. AirTraffic Ops room, Muharraq.

Even 3 years after they’d changed, it was still ‘fun’. But possibly not helped by when I took my B class driving test, the MT sergeant told me that since they’d changed over, the main rule of the road was “if he hesitates you go, because if you hesitate, he’ll go’.

As an aside, if you were RAF, have you seen the “We walked the sands” Facebook group?

[john.wigley]

I think 'Rustyfrog's post contained a simple 'typo'. As others have pointed out, Sweden actually changed over 30 years earlier, in 1967!

They couldn't have left it much longer. Even with their large land mass and low population, the number of vehicles in use was already rising rapidly. Whist not the gargantuan task that it would have been in the UK, it would have been increasingly difficult to achieve a (relatively) seamless change over.

A second factor in their favour was that they had been designing their road infrastructure for this possibility since the 1930s - think roundabouts, sliproads, sightline on bends, signage and so on. I doubt that many of our roads would so readily lend themselves so easily to reverse flow traffic. As 'Baxlin' posed so succintly: What's the point?!

Regards, John.

[EssexExile]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

A second factor in their favour was that they had been designing their road infrastructure for this possibility since the 1930s - think roundabouts, sliproads, sightline on bends, signage and so on.

Regards, John.

A typical Swedish road in 1972, it didn't need much adjusting!

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[john.wigley]

There are parts of Sweden still like that today, 'Essex Exile', especially in the far north! It is certainly possible to drive for a couple of hours without seeing another car in the more remote areas.

The one time driving on the right proved a challenge to me was when my 344 broke down (with a broken throttle cable, would you believe!) on setting out for the ferry home. Being RHD, it was much longer than the one fitted to LHD variants. We were recovered to a remote Volvo garage who needed to obtain one from Gothenburg on special order.

Mr. Avis provided me with a LHD Escort hire car, but in driving it I found myself attempting to change gear with the window regulator and open the window with the gearlever - oh for an automatic! Linda flatly refused to drive the car! At the same time, I also lost the benefit any tolerance shown by the locals towards tourists.

Because there were only two crossings a week, we were also put up for four days in a very nice hotel - much more luxurious than the 'sommar stugor' that we had up to that point been sharing with some Swedish friends. Were we glad of our AA 5* travel insurance on that occasion.

Regards, John.

[Rustyfrog]

Originally Posted by EssexExile

I wish you'd told me about that earlier. I drove in Sweden in 1972 and drove on the right the whole time.

Should have read 1967!
Thanks for the correction

[Rustyfrog]

Originally Posted by Baxlin

That’s where I spent my year abroad, but in 1970/71. AirTraffic Ops room, Muharraq.

Even 3 years after they’d changed, it was still ‘fun’. But possibly not helped by when I took my B class driving test, the MT sergeant told me that since they’d changed over, the main rule of the road was “if he hesitates you go, because if you hesitate, he’ll go’.

As an aside, if you were RAF, have you seen the “We walked the sands” Facebook group?

I wasn't in The RAF, but the Army.
We operated a tank landing craft and was based at the naval base, HMS Jufair.

I did however leave my tonsils behind in the RAF Hospital at Muharraq!