7 ms·
But aren't things like road signs in mph defined by law?
by vibrunazo 14y ago
But aren't things like road signs in mph defined by law?
- Svip 14y agoMy understanding of speed limits in the US is that each state defines it. There is no national speed limits (hence why Montana is famous for its high speed limits on motorways, but not much else). But I doubt that Washington D.C. uses kph on its speed signs, though.
- dgavey 14y agoArizona has some signs in Kilometers. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/us/15highway.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/us/15highway.html?_r=0]
- chiph 14y agoThe last sign in the US that I saw marked in metric was one on northbound I-95 in South Carolina, just north of the I-26 interchange. The sign was replaced about 2 years ago with a new one that only shows distances in miles. I suspect that metrication of the highway system in the US will only happen if a large state like California or Texas converts. But with the current budget situation, that's highly unlikely.
- xxpor 14y agoThe federal government has a law that federal funds can not be used to pay for signs with metric measures on them.
- benholmen 14y agoDo you have a source for that?
- xxpor 14y agohttp://www.legistorm.com/score_gao/show/id/25766.html http://www.legistorm.com/score_gao/show/id/25766.html "However, Congress passed legislation in 1994 and 1995 that prohibited federal funding for converting highway signs, such as those for speed limits, to metric units."
- Torgo 14y agoAccording to: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/faq.htm "the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 prohibited the use of Federal-aid highway funds to convert existing signs or purchase new signs with metric units." It appears from my reading of the law that the prohibition expired in 2000.
- xxpor 14y agoHa interesting. Didn't know abou that expiration.
- derleth 14y ago> Montana is famous for its high speed limits on motorways This hasn't been true for years. Our current speed limits are in line with the rest of the country.
- lancefisher 14y agoIn 1995 - 1999, our speed limit on the Interstate in Montana was "Reasonable and Prudent". The federal government set a national speed limit in 1974, and it was repealed in 1995. When that happened the speed limit reverted to what it was in '74. I was in high school for a couple of those years. I drove 120 MPH frequently. I probably would have got pulled over for that. I had a friend who got pulled over for going 90 MPH. Ultimately, I think the ambiguity of "reasonable and prudent" led to the state enacting a 75 MPH speed limit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States#Montana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_Stat...
- cglace 14y agoAre you saying that Montana is not known for much else other than having high speed limits? There are two incredibly beautiful national parks there, Glacier and Yellowstone. Yellowstone is one of the best known parks in America.