Why the heck does America still use outdated measurement and date units?

[J.A.K.]

Fifteen years ago, I survived a side-impact from (mercifully) a compact ICE car. It entered the intersection on a red light as I was bicycling in a designated bicycling lane, on green. The intersection had a known design issue (a one-way side street, with vehicles permitted to park all the way up to the intersection).

Due to various issues I've never held a car license and so been a lifelong pedestrian and PT user. I have come to several conclusions over the last 40+ years.

1. People just plain don't give a crap, primarily because all humans are awful.
2. Everyone thinks they're far better drivers than they actually are.
3. Nobody knows the road rules but everyone thinks they do.
4. I will never place my faith in someone who controls several tons of unforgiving inertia.

I don't use pedestrian crossings if I can avoid them, preferring to 'jay walk' further down the road where I decide when it's safe for me to cross. I've almost been run over far too many times by drivers who ignore signals, don't look where they're going, or just blame me for existing and thus making their lives slightly less convenient for having to slow down or stop due to pesky laws about right of way.

 

[B S Magnet]

Due to various issues I've never held a car license and so been a lifelong pedestrian and PT user. I have come to several conclusions over the last 40+ years.

1. People just plain don't give a crap, primarily because all humans are awful.
2. Everyone thinks they're far better drivers than they actually are.
3. Nobody knows the road rules but everyone thinks they do.
4. I will never place my faith in someone who controls several tons of unforgiving inertia.

I don't use pedestrian crossings if I can avoid them, preferring to 'jay walk' further down the road where I decide when it's safe for me to cross. I've almost been run over far too many times by drivers who ignore signals, don't look where they're going, or just blame me for existing and thus making their lives slightly less convenient for having to slow down or stop due to pesky laws about right of way.

There’s a really interesting history on where and when the pejorative “jaywalking” came about, and when and where the first city to begin citing pedestrians described them as such: City of Los Angeles, 1930, pushed by private motoring clubs. (This was also around the time of the first permanent traffic signals.)

A “jay”, of course, was what a city dweller then called a rural visitor (along with calling them “hayseeds”). Somewhere in my library, I have a paper delving into what led up to that and the consequences it carried as it spread everywhere.

It’s not a net benefit to society or to environment that streets (which were designed originally for multiple uses and modes of movement) became the province of only/principally motor vehicles — laying barren commercial corridors which once were very lively and active places.

But yah: your observations comport generally with my being a bicyclist for over 45 years. The fourth one you list resonates especially so.

I grew up where having a driving licence was basically essential (due to how multi-modal mobility was designed poorly around that region). For all the years since, I’ve kept the licence current, even as in, say, these last ten years, I’ve rented/hired a car all of a half-dozen times.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Here in the U.S.A. that you make you a younger person. In the 1960s and 1970s, they were MPH only. I'm thinking that it was late 1970s/early 1980s that they started to implement both, around the time of the 85 MPH speedometers.

I found the story about the inventor of a speedometer very interesting (below):

Great inventions: The speedometer - Hagerty Media

Credit for the first car speedometer goes to A.P. Warner of the Warner Electric Company who adapted a mechanism called a cut-meter, which measured the speed of industrial cutting tools.

www.hagerty.com

The world’s first speeding ticket was given to Walter Arnold in Paddock Wood, Kent, on January 28, 1896. Arnold tore through the town at four times the speed limit and a five-mile chase ensued before finally he was brought to a halt by a bobby on a bicycle who pinched him for going 8 mph—and without the requisite flag-waving escort.

Then I read somewhere else that the first speedometer for locomotives was based on MPH. Now, I have no idea when the double scale speeders were introduced in the US, but I remember driving between the US and Canada in the early '70s, following the KPH scale in the speedometer.

 

[J.A.K.]

It’s not a net benefit to society or to environment that streets (which were designed originally for multiple uses and modes of movement) became the province of only/principally motor vehicles — laying barren commercial corridors which once were very lively and active places.

I was involved in a local community consultation for a development proposal of a CBD road. About sixty or so people were randomly selected as a representative sample of the community. The road in question was very wide at this section. Four lanes with parking either side and very wide footpaths. It was barren and lifeless bitumen and concrete. Baking hot during summer and a miserably wet wind tunnel in winter.

Over several sessions, experts were brought in to present various facts about what can and can't be done, what is in the best interests of local businesses and residents, etc. and cute software was used to help people visualise possible outcomes. Almost universally we voted on a development proposal to include isolated bike lanes (so a barrier between them and cars/pedestrians) both ways, a nature strip in the middle and on both sides with limited parking and only one lane either way to create a lovely boulevard for walking and biking and to promote visiting both existing and new businesses from multi-story developments along the strip.

Then a local councillor decided to make it part of her campaign to transition to state politics and went all, "THINK OF THE PAR CARKS!"

Almost ten years later, y'know what that road looks like? Exactly the ****ing same as it was before she halted all that development.

Also, the metric system rules. Get on board already.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I was involved in a local community consultation for a development proposal of a CBD road. About sixty or so people were randomly selected as a representative sample of the community. The road in question was very wide at this section. Four lanes with parking either side and very wide footpaths. It was barren and lifeless bitumen and concrete. Baking hot during summer and a miserably wet wind tunnel in winter.

Over several sessions, experts were brought in to present various facts about what can and can't be done, what is in the best interests of local businesses and residents, etc. and cute software was used to help people visualise possible outcomes. Almost universally we voted on a development proposal to include isolated bike lanes (so a barrier between them and cars/pedestrians) both ways, a nature strip in the middle and on both sides with limited parking and only one lane either way to create a lovely boulevard for walking and biking and to promote visiting both existing and new businesses from multi-story developments along the strip.

Then a local councillor decided to make it part of her campaign to transition to state politics and went all, "THINK OF THE PAR CARKS!"

Almost ten years later, y'know what that road looks like? Exactly the ****ing same as it was before she halted all that development.

Also, the metric system rules. Get on board already.

A tragic and deeply depressing story, but, thank you for sharing it.

 

[B S Magnet]

I found the story about the inventor of a speedometer very interesting (below):

Great inventions: The speedometer - Hagerty Media

Credit for the first car speedometer goes to A.P. Warner of the Warner Electric Company who adapted a mechanism called a cut-meter, which measured the speed of industrial cutting tools.

www.hagerty.com

Then I read somewhere else that the first speedometer for locomotives was based on MPH. Now, I have no idea when the double scale speeders were introduced in the US, but I remember driving between the US and Canada in the early '70s, following the KPH scale in the speedometer.

Dual-scale speedometers in North America were led mostly by metrication regulations coming into force in Canada (and for a short minute, metrication in the U.S., before that got killed off for no valid reason other than the usual American inertia). Metrication in Canada occurred between 1970 and 1985.

Generally, the appearance of dual-scale speedometers in North America began, as seen on select models by select manufacturers, around 1975 (mostly upper-end GM models), on both sides of the 49th parallel. It wasn’t until, I believe, the 1981 model year when priority-mandated speedometers and priority-matched odometer were made to adhere to national regulations, relative to calls for metric (Canada) or imperial/’muricun (the U.S.).

That is: the 1981 model year was the first (that I’m aware of) when Canadian-market vehicles were required to display km/h as the primary speedometer measurement and the odometer in km, thus making these separate parts/part number from those used in U.S.-spec vehicles. A 1980 model of the same vehicle, same generation, as sold within Canada, would have still showed MPH (Muricunkilometres Per Hour) as the priority scale, with the odometer also being in miles, or muricunkms.

And yes, “muricunkms” is to stir a rise in defensive folks.

 

[bousozoku]

I found the story about the inventor of a speedometer very interesting (below):

Great inventions: The speedometer - Hagerty Media

Credit for the first car speedometer goes to A.P. Warner of the Warner Electric Company who adapted a mechanism called a cut-meter, which measured the speed of industrial cutting tools.

www.hagerty.com

Then I read somewhere else that the first speedometer for locomotives was based on MPH. Now, I have no idea when the double scale speeders were introduced in the US, but I remember driving between the US and Canada in the early '70s, following the KPH scale in the speedometer.

Perhaps, you were driving a Saab or a Volvo? I don't remember seeing any GM, Ford, or Chrysler products with a dual scale until late because they were always dragging their heels, trying to not do anything that would cost more. If any of those three would have anything a little advanced, it was because someone else made it for them, such as the Luv or Ranger pick up trucks or the Mercury Capri.

 

[bousozoku]

A driver in Aus. recently got pinged for holding her phone while driving.
The law says the phone must be in a cradle so you can look at it without touching it.
However, the part attaching the cradle to the car was broken.
So, she was holding the phone in the broken cradle, and tried to argue to the patient policeperson that since the phone was in the cradle, it should have been ok, even if it wasn't attached to the car. Sadly for the driver, the excuse didn't wash.

Thankfully, that was not acceptable. I wish the police here would actually do something about bad drivers, but the police in this town are just as bad as the people they should be stopping.

 

[Herdfan]

That BMW: What a gorgeous, visually clear and clean, mercifully uncluttered, and extremely legible dash; a design classic.

And the HVAC was awesome. Put as much air/heat anywhere you wanted it without preset options.

 

[B S Magnet]

Perhaps, you were driving a Saab or a Volvo? I don't remember seeing any GM, Ford, or Chrysler products with a dual scale until late because they were always dragging their heels, trying to not do anything that would cost more. If any of those three would have anything a little advanced, it was because someone else made it for them, such as the Luv or Ranger pick up trucks or the Mercury Capri.

For North America, at least four early models from known to have dual-standard speedometers, all from General Motors: the 1975 Chevrolet Caprice (as a Chevrolet luxury flagship); the 1975 Corvette (as their sport flagship); the 1975 Pontiac Firebird (as their flagship); and on the Chevrolet Nova and (related) Buick Skylark. Neither of these last two was a flagship, but instead featured components to carry over to next-generation “refreshes”.

Also from early 1975 (though all marked as model year 1976): the newly created Cadillac Seville.

Beyond GM, I’m not aware of any other manufacturers to do this for the North American market — not even the Canadian Bricklin Safety Vehicle-1, or SV-1, touted for innovating many features to become commonplace on other vehicles throughout. Given their sporadic appearance that year, GM probably treated these new-styled dual speedometers — effectively, a different screen-printed template (either one- or two-part) — as an exclusive, but standard feature for those higher-end models only, whilst waiting for other, older models, whose product life cycles were planned to end, to continue to use the older, screen-printed templates for MPH-only.

 

[bousozoku]

For North America, at least four early models from known to have dual-standard speedometers, all from General Motors: the 1975 Chevrolet Caprice (as a Chevrolet luxury flagship); the 1975 Corvette (as their sport flagship); the 1975 Pontiac Firebird (as their flagship); and on the Chevrolet Nova and (related) Buick Skylark. Neither of these last two was a flagship, but instead featured components to carry over to next-generation “refreshes”.

Also from early 1975 (though all marked as model year 1976): the newly created Cadillac Seville.

Beyond GM, I’m not aware of any other manufacturers to do this for the North American market — not even the Canadian Bricklin Safety Vehicle-1, or SV-1, touted for innovating many features to become commonplace on other vehicles throughout. Given their sporadic appearance that year, GM probably treated these new-styled dual speedometers — effectively, a different screen-printed template (either one- or two-part) — as an exclusive, but standard feature for those higher-end models only, whilst waiting for other, older models, whose product life cycles were planned to end, to continue to use the older, screen-printed templates for MPH-only.

However, that Chevrolet Nova was transformed into the Cadillac Seville, so maybe, it required some enhancements for that reason.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Perhaps, you were driving a Saab or a Volvo? I don't remember seeing any GM, Ford, or Chrysler products with a dual scale until late because they were always dragging their heels, trying to not do anything that would cost more. If any of those three would have anything a little advanced, it was because someone else made it for them, such as the Luv or Ranger pick up trucks or the Mercury Capri.

I used to drive a Volvo back then, but as far as I remember I had to follow the KPH scale in Canada (I never drove drove South to Mexico). But please take a loo at what I found:

KPH Speedometer Conversion : How-To Library : The MG Experience

Library Article: Simple paper overlay to convert your speedometer to read out in metric kph. at The MG Experience

www.mgexp.com

When cleaning the gauges on my 1966 MGB, I discovered that what I thought was a metric Smiths speedometer was actually just a printed piece of paper glued to the face! It had me fooled, and seemed like an clever and inexpensive way to convert a speedometer from miles to kilometers. So, I scanned the paper overlay and cleaned up the image a little in case it's useful to anyone else. If you require a metric speedo for importation, licencing etc, just print this out, cut it out and stick it to the face. It may take some playing with your printer settings to get it to print at the right scale.

Dual-scale speedometers in North America were led mostly by metrication regulations coming into force in Canada (and for a short minute, metrication in the U.S., before that got killed off for no valid reason other than the usual American inertia). Metrication in Canada occurred between 1970 and 1985.

Generally, the appearance of dual-scale speedometers in North America began, as seen on select models by select manufacturers, around 1975 (mostly upper-end GM models), on both sides of the 49th parallel. It wasn’t until, I believe, the 1981 model year when priority-mandated speedometers and priority-matched odometer were made to adhere to national regulations, relative to calls for metric (Canada) or imperial/’muricun (the U.S.).

That is: the 1981 model year was the first (that I’m aware of) when Canadian-market vehicles were required to display km/h as the primary speedometer measurement and the odometer in km, thus making these separate parts/part number from those used in U.S.-spec vehicles. A 1980 model of the same vehicle, same generation, as sold within Canada, would have still showed MPH (Muricunkilometres Per Hour) as the priority scale, with the odometer also being in miles, or muricunkms.

And yes, “muricunkms” is to stir a rise in defensive folks.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Apple fanboy]

I used to drive a Volvo back then, but as far as I remember I had to follow the KPH scale in Canada (I never drove drove South to Mexico). But please take a loo at what I found:






Thanks for sharing!

That’s a good solution for conversion. However that shouldn’t be necessary on the MGB. You can tell what speed it’s going simply by asking the driver of the tow truck. At least everyone I’ve ever known to have an MG had it off the road more than on it!

 

[polyphenol]

For North America, at least four early models from known to have dual-standard speedometers, all from General Motors: the 1975 Chevrolet Caprice (as a Chevrolet luxury flagship); the 1975 Corvette (as their sport flagship); the 1975 Pontiac Firebird (as their flagship); and on the Chevrolet Nova and (related) Buick Skylark. Neither of these last two was a flagship, but instead featured components to carry over to next-generation “refreshes”.

Also from early 1975 (though all marked as model year 1976): the newly created Cadillac Seville.

Beyond GM, I’m not aware of any other manufacturers to do this for the North American market — not even the Canadian Bricklin Safety Vehicle-1, or SV-1, touted for innovating many features to become commonplace on other vehicles throughout. Given their sporadic appearance that year, GM probably treated these new-styled dual speedometers — effectively, a different screen-printed template (either one- or two-part) — as an exclusive, but standard feature for those higher-end models only, whilst waiting for other, older models, whose product life cycles were planned to end, to continue to use the older, screen-printed templates for MPH-only.

1975 aligns neatly with the Metric Conversion Act in 1975.

And useful on Interstate 19!

The Only Metric Highway in the United States

Currently, only three countries in the world have not adopted the metric system as the standard: The United States, Myanmar, and Liberia.

www.geographyrealm.com

 

[AlaskaMoose]

That’s a good solution for conversion. However that shouldn’t be necessary on the MGB. You can tell what speed it’s going simply by asking the driver of the tow truck. At least everyone I’ve ever known to have an MG had it off the road more than on it!

Some of my friends drove MGs in the Big Apple back in the early '80s. But in those years one could perform most major maintenance of MG's, Volvo, Fiat, and so on. They had lots of room in the engine bay for one to reach anything on the engine. Some of the Fiat cars required lots of maintenance, but the Volvo 122s I drove was built like a tank and never broke down.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Some of my friends drove Mrs in the Big Apple back in the early '80s. But in those years one could perform most major maintenance of MG's, Volvo, Fiat, and so on. They had lots of room in the engine bay for one to reach anything on the engine.

Well that is true. Modern engines are hard to see let alone work on.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Well that is true. Modern engines are hard to see let alone work on.

Some older MG cars still have an very good market value, at least the ones their owners took good care of of them:

Classic MG for Sale on ClassicCars.com

Find classic cars, collector cars and vintage muscle cars on ClassicCars.com. Search, sell or buy and Drive Your Dream today!

classiccars.com

But I do understand the MG's lower craftsmanship quality compared to the classic 1964 Volvo 122s like the one I drove:

Classic Volvo 122 for Sale on ClassicCars.com

Find classic cars, collector cars and vintage muscle cars on ClassicCars.com. Search, sell or buy and Drive Your Dream today!

classiccars.com

 

[bousozoku]

That’s a good solution for conversion. However that shouldn’t be necessary on the MGB. You can tell what speed it’s going simply by asking the driver of the tow truck. At least everyone I’ve ever known to have an MG had it off the road more than on it!

Lucas Electrics are the best!

 

[B S Magnet]

That’s a good solution for conversion. However that shouldn’t be necessary on the MGB. You can tell what speed it’s going simply by asking the driver of the tow truck. At least everyone I’ve ever known to have an MG had it off the road more than on it!

Whilst growing up, my uncle’s friend drove an MGB. According to my uncle, it was an initialism for “Mechanics, Get Busy!”

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Some of my friends drove MGs in the Big Apple back in the early '80s. But in those years one could perform most major maintenance of MG's, Volvo, Fiat, and so on. They had lots of room in the engine bay for one to reach anything on the engine. Some of the Fiat cars required lots of maintenance, but the Volvo 122s I drove was built like a tank and never broke down.

I believe this was the Triumph Spitfire. At the first service, a hole saw was used to put a hole in the front wheel well to give access to the rear spark plug. This was because once the engine was lowered into and bolted down to the engine compartment there was no access to that spark plug.

 

[BotchQue]

I believe this was the Triumph Spitfire. At the first service, a hole saw was used to put a hole in the front wheel well to give access to the rear spark plug. This was because once the engine was lowered into and bolted down to the engine compartment there was no access to that spark plug.

Hmm. On the Pontiac Fiero with the bigger engine (it was designed as a low-cost commuter but they made it look too sporty, hence the demand for a bigger engine) the manuals had you loosen or remove the engine mounting bolts, and lift/tilt the entire block for access to one plug. Ouch.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Hmm. On the Pontiac Fiero with the bigger engine (it was designed as a low-cost commuter but they made it look too sporty, hence the demand for a bigger engine) the manuals had you loosen or remove the engine mounting bolts, and lift/tilt the entire block for access to one plug. Ouch.

Lots of work

Lucas Electrics are the best!

Agree.

Whilst growing up, my uncle’s friend drove an MGB. According to my uncle, it was an initialism for “Mechanics, Get Busy!”

Yes, but bay then lots of people would take care of their cars, and kept them for a lot of years.

 

[bousozoku]

Hmm. On the Pontiac Fiero with the bigger engine (it was designed as a low-cost commuter but they made it look too sporty, hence the demand for a bigger engine) the manuals had you loosen or remove the engine mounting bolts, and lift/tilt the entire block for access to one plug. Ouch.

The Chevrolet Monza and the Ford Mustang II were equally less-than-ideal with maintenance when outfitted with engines not designed for them. I still remember service advisors telling me that there were special tools from each company to handle various circumstances.

 

[Agincourt]

I'm an American and I'm trying to use metric whenever possible, however the OP made a statement I don't agree with. If we use units which aren't round numbers, that means we're working with a harder system. I unfortunately have been indoctrinated to use standard units, but can approximate the conversion values.

1 meter is slightly over 3 feet or yard
1 km is about 2/3 of a mile
1 kg is slightly over 2 Ibs
1 metric ton slightly heavier than a ton
Temperature is one I can't easily approximate

When I see metric I convert these figures to standard in my mind. Metric isn't not very useful here in the US, which is partly why we're not switching over. It would simply require too much transitional overhead and leaving units we've used all our lives.

 

[polyphenol]

I'm an American and I'm trying to use metric whenever possible, however the OP made a statement I don't agree with. If we use units which aren't round numbers, that means we're working with a harder system. I unfortunately have been indoctrinated to use standard units, but can approximate the conversion values.

1 meter is slightly over 3 feet or yard
1 km is about 2/3 of a mile
1 kg is slightly over 2 Ibs
1 metric ton slightly heavier than a ton
Temperature is one I can't easily approximate

When I see metric I convert these figures to standard in my mind. Metric isn't not very useful here in the US, which is partly why we're not switching over. It would simply require too much transitional overhead and leaving units we've used all our lives.

And 1 litre is close to 1 US Quart.

In this computerised world, binary-based numbers are everywhere, often as multiples of 16. Many of us probably know 16, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, without even really thinking about them. MPH to KPH - multiply by 16 and divide by 10. Of course, dividing by 10 is so trivial it doesn't need any effort! I find it easier than 5/8 or 8/5.