Maximum Speed

Definition: A unit of measure which has been taught in schools in the UK since at least 1972 when I went through the education system over there. Often viewed as one of those 'foreign' European things, 'not invented here'.

It really is about time the UK adopted modern, widely used measurement systems! We use Km/h here in Australia and it really isn't a problem. Although I have a full appreciation of imperial measurement systems, I was never taught it in my UK schooling. The use of the metric system certainly makes A level and University level Physics a lot easier!

Graham

All UK cars I ever saw had a speedo dial which was marked out in mph and a separate scale marked out in smaller characters in km/h, usually in an inner ring. What's the problem with matching the number on a road sign with the same number on the appropriate scale on the speedo ? Here in Australia, all vehicles (except those which predate metrification 30 years ago) only have km/h speedos.

Graham

Why are we using technology which is so inaccurate ? There is no justifiable reason today why we cannot have digital speedos which measure speed by bouncing a signal off of nearby objects or the road surface. Cost really isn't a valid excuse now. Or is there some alternative interest which is preventing this from happening - like no-one would ever speed because they would have an absolutely accurate reading and therefore couldn't be booked ? I feel 'revenue raising' is being given a higher priority than safety here. Graham Plowman

I suppose Australian vehicles are rarely driven abroad! Cars sold in Canada have had primary speedo markings and the odometer in metric since

1977, but have supplementary markings in mph because of the proximity of the USA. Too bad digital speedos never really caught on - you could change both the speed and distance readings with the touch of a button.

I don't think the technology is inaccurate, except by design. All speedos these days are electronic; the only thing that can throw them off is changing the diameter of the tyres. Apart from running them excessively flat, this can happen if you retrofit tyres with a different specification from the original equipment. A discrepancy of more than a few percent can adversely affect the car's computer.

Actually, my American minivan has both a dial readout in MPH/KPH, AND a overhead display with speed, trip odometer, average fuel usage, and distance to empty in both miles/gallons and kilometers/liters.

Yes, also seen on busses of the period and other vehicles, mind you the traffic density here is such that even the worst rush hour is considerably lighter than the lightest periods in the UK, Beowulf

Tyre sizes change with wear.

Which would be irrelevant with a system such as that suggested by gppsoftware.

I think you're getting confused with Ireland.

"Andy Sollis- Churnet Valley model Railway Dept." wrote

Ah yes, the 'S' added to GCE to confirm the change to 'General Certificate of Substandard Education'.

John.

On 20/12/2004 22:11, Ken Parkes wrote,

I was being PC (yeah, right!)

True, but it's relevant to the current regulations for speedometer accuracy.

Not quite. The insistence on negative superscripts went out about 40 years ago. Hour (h) is " a unit accepted for use with the SI", and use of the slash "/" to avoid negative superscripts is also acceptable. More details than you'll ever need at