New Metric Speed Limits - Practical Advice for Drivers

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ajapale

Guest
Does any one have any practical advice for motorists who want to understand and abide by the new metric speed limits?

Specifically my km/speed is drark blue on a black background and is almost illegilbe, is there any way that the key points can be highlighted on the dial?

Please try to keep this thread on topic and post general questions / comments regarding speed limits / compliance etc in Leaving Off Steam or else where. All mentions of the "Belfield FlyOver" will be dealt with severely ;) .

thanks,
ajapale
 
metric

I had a jap import honda integra for a few years with a kilometer only dial.
Find out the 3 or 4 main speed limits in miles, (30,40,50,70)?? convert to km's and you'll quickly find yourself converting in your head when youre driving. Its not that bad. If youre not great with numbers perhaps you could put a postit on the dash with the conversions until you get used to them.
 
re tippex

put tippex dots at the relevant points on the dash ...... 30k,50k,80k......

Perhaps main dealers will issue transparent stickers, with kms on them, to stick over speedos ??
 
Re: re tippex

Silvera

Perhaps main dealers will issue transparent stickers, with kms on them, to stick over speedos ??
Click to expand...

What A great business or marketing idea! What's the best selling car in Ireland?

Maybe an oil company could print them off? Or the Department of Transport or the National Safety Council?


Brendan
 
Re: re tippex

To get mph from kph, drop the zero and multiply by 6

Example 60kph = 6 x 6 = 36mph
80kph = 8 x 6 = 48mph (just below the exact conversion of 50mph)
 
Re: Transparancies

Not sure about the transparances being a great idea. I was thinking about this resently and reckon it's a minefield. The variables are too many
1. Distance from perspecx to actual number dial
2. angle of the perspecx
3. line of vision from the drivers eye.

To illustrate, ask your passenger to tell you the speed at any time. You will find the their view of the spedo is different from yours, and this is without a transparancy. This is an example of parallax, for this to work correctly you will need to establish a position of non-parallax not easy given the variables above.

It would be a brave person who would market these in Ireland with out a major discalimer.

Having said all that I think I might use one but I'd be quite conservative on how I affixed it
 
Re: Transparancies

I have just got my post with a brochure from the Dept of Transport and NSC entitled "Speed Limits Go Metric"

At the back, there is a sticker with the conversion figures on it.

I chopped up the sticker put the new speed limits on the speed dial. Unfortunately, the glass is at an angle to the actual dial itself, so it's not great. It would be necessary to remove the glass and put the stickers directly on the dial.

I think this is the non-technical explanation of what Natchessman means. I didn't know that the glass in front of the speedometer is called a "perspeckx".

Ah well... I think I will just get a new car.

Brendan
 
Don;t think the manufacturers would provide a new disc or sticker to put on the odometer as who is responsible if it's put on wrong and there's a subsequent speeding fine etc.?
 
er sorry Brendan I misspelled "perspex" it is a type plastic or glass used for the facing on a dachboard. FYI it's the same as used in plastic windows. But you see what I mean about angles making it difficult to operate effectively. Perhaps the "post-it method" is best
 
Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm well and truly parallaxed!

Does any one know whether the perspex is removable in which case the tippex method migh work. Is it an offence to tamper with your speedo?

ajapale
 
Is it an offence to tamper with your speedo?
Click to expand...
Only if you try to alter the recorded milage surely. At the risk of sounding condescending, can you try to remember the mph equivalent of the new limits? Why worry about seeing the actual kph figures? For the 80kph, you watch for 50mph on the speedo, for the 100kph, you watch for 62.5mph(or round that down to 60mph) etc. I think many people can't see the forest for the trees here. You can still obey the new kph limits without having any kph info on the speedo!


Spelling corrected, I think!
 
At the risk of sounding condescending, can you try to remember the mph equivalent of the new limits?
Click to expand...

hi sunnyday, yep, your suggestion sounds a little condescending. ;)

I'm one of those people who like to make a swift and total change over. Not for me converting euros into pounds shillings and pence!

Driving is an incredibly complex activity. A lot of what we do is subconscious. Efforts to try to manage more than 6 or 7 subconscious activities do not succeed. There are some that would ban the use of hands free phones by drivers for this very reason.

I'm not very good a mental arithmetic so dividing by 6 is not the answer. If I could get the Perspex off (and on again) I think that the tippex or paint might be the best solution. Don’t get me wrong I'd only mark 4 or 5 of the key limits.

ajapale

Spelling checked on Dunners advice
 
Speed Limits

Usually I'd be on sunnyday's side on this issue. We have a tendancy to overblow things in advance a little (smoking ban anyone?) but this time I find myself deeply irritated by the government's attitude that we are all overreacting, that it's "easy really" etc.

I believe the 60, 70 mph equivalents are not really the issue - the kph equivalents are fairly straightforward. The problem is in the 30 and 40 mph zones where a couple of kph here or there DOES matter, unless we are all going to crawl around at 20mph (or whatever it is in kph). As the not-so-proud owner of penalty points awarded in a 40mph zone, I don't mind the Guards being pernickity in the lower speed limits but it's difficult enough to stay abreast of what the speed limit is on the edges of cities and towns, the least a driver should have is clear info of what speed he is driving at.

And then they are changing the limit on some roads from 60 down to 50 (mph - but nobody is talking about this in terms of kilometres). This is bloody confusing. I don't know for sure exactly what roads are "regional" or "local" but as a culchie, no doubt it applies to most I use. Mind you, if I had actually ever seen a Guard on any of them it would be of even greater concern.

Rebecca
 
Re: Speed Limits

hi sunnyday, yep, your suggestion sounds a little condesending.
Click to expand...
OK! I don't mean it to be though! I just personally find the whole thing to be quiet easy, but I appreciate that's not the case for everyone. Taking off the perspex cover on many cars is not easy. You could try a garage or even a car alarm/stereo installation place to see if they'd take it off for you, and then apply your tippex. Safe driving whatever you do :)
 
Re: Speed Limits

anyone got an Irish '05 car yet? is the speedo showing miles and KMs or just KMs
 
Re: Speed Limits

Mine's a(n) '01, and it has both. And my former (Japanese) '94 had both, too. Have to say I don't think sunnyday was being condescending — Jeez, is it that hard to remember 4 equivalences (30mph=x, 40=y, 60=z and whoops, there I am, out of letters...! ;) ) — or vice versa..?
 
Re: Speed Limits

I'm with Sunnyday on this one.

It's not hard to remember the main speed limits and round down to the nearest MPH marking.

I have been driving something with only kilometers per hour on the dash for the last year and had no problem adapting to the MPH road signs.

There are 6 speeds which are going to be signposted
30km/h = 19MPH (just under 20MPH on the dial)
50km/h = 31MPH (use 30MPH on the dial)
60km/h = 37MPH (use 35MPH on the dial)
80km/h = 50MPH (use 50MPH on the dial)
100km/h = 62MPH (use 60MPH on the dial)
120km/h = 75MPH (use 75MPH on the dial)

I just don't see the issue. Stick to the speeds above and you will only lose a max of 2 miles per hour of driving at the limit but.

The tippex idea is good but suffers from the parallax issue outlined above - safer to get your garage (or you) to take off the dash front and tippex directly (and safely) directly onto the speedo.

z
 
Re: Speed Limits

my old man has just ordered a new mitsubishi colt and it will have the seppd in kmph only. A friend got a new Yaris too and the same applies.
 
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