Wednesday, April 5, 2017

United Kingdom

See also: Metrication in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, some of the population continue to resist metrication to varying degrees. The traditional imperial measures are preferred by a majority and continue to have widespread use in some applications.[61][62] The metric system is used by most businesses,[63] and is used for most trade transactions. Metric units must be used for certain trading activities (selling by weight or measure for example), although imperial units may continue to be displayed in parallel.[64]
British law has enacted the provisions of European Union directive 80/181/EEC, which catalogues the units of measure that may be used for "economic, public health, public safety and administrative purposes".[65] These units consist of the recommendations of the General Conference on Weights and Measures,[66] supplemented by some additional units of measure that may be used for specified purposes.[67] Metric units could be legally used for trading purposes for nearly a century before metrication efforts began in earnest. The government had been making preparations for the conversion of the Imperial unit since the 1862 Select Committee on Weights and Measures recommended the conversion[68] and the Weights and Measures Act of 1864 and the Weights and Measures (Metric System) Act of 1896 legalised the metric system.[69] In 1965, with lobbying from British industries and the prospects of joining the Common Market, the government set a 10-year target for full conversion, and created the Metrication Board in 1969. Metrication did occur in some areas during this time period, including the re-surveying of Ordnance Survey maps in 1970, decimalisation of the currency in 1971, and teaching the metric system in schools. No plans were made to make the use of the metric system compulsory, and the Metrication Board was abolished in 1980 following a change in government.[70]
The United Kingdom avoided having to comply with the 1989 European Units of Measurement Directive (89/617/EEC), which required all member states to make the metric system compulsory, by negotiating derogations (delayed switchovers), including for miles on road signs and for pints for draught beer, cider, and milk sales.[71]
Following the United Kingdom's referendum to exit the European Union, retailers have begun to request to go back to using Imperial Units, with some reverting without permission. A poll following the EU vote also found that 45% of Britons sought to revert to selling produce in Imperial Units.[72]
In popular conversation, the stone unit is still used for body weight by some people though people are starting to weigh themselves in kilos as pre-metric weighing machines become obsolete, and feet and inches are used to describe height by most as well.

United States and Canada

See also: Metrication in the United States and Metrication in Canada
A measuring cup, manufactured and sold in the US (circa 1980) features graduations in both metric and US customary systems. Held in the right hand, a person would have the metric graduations in front, facing them. But in filling the measuring cup from another container, right-handed people would hold it in their left hand, and read from the customary graduations.
Over time, the metric system has influenced the United States through international trade and standardization. The use of the metric system was made legal as a system of measurement in 1866[73] and the United States was a founding member of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in 1875.[74] The system was officially adopted by the federal government in 1975 for use in the military and government agencies, and as preferred system for trade and commerce.[75] It has remained voluntary for federal and state road signage to use metric units, despite attempts in the 1990s to make it a requirement.[76]
A 1992 amendment to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA), which took effect in 1994, required labels on federally regulated "consumer commodities"[77] to include both metric and US customary units. As of 2013, all but one US state (New York) have passed laws permitting metric-only labels for the products they regulate.[78] Likewise, Canada also legally allows for dual labelling of goods provided that the metric unit is listed first and that there is a distinction of whether a liquid measure is a US or a Canadian (Imperial) unit.[79]
Today, the American public and much of the private business and industry still use US customary units despite many years of informal or optional metrication.[80] At least two states, Kentucky and California, have even moved towards demetrication of highway construction projects.[81][82][83]

Air and sea transportation

Air and sea transportation commonly use the nautical mile. This is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian arc and it is precisely defined as 1852 metres (about 1.151 statute miles). It is not an SI unit (although it is accepted for use in the SI by the BIPM). The prime unit of speed or velocity for maritime and air navigation remains the knot (nautical mile per hour).
The prime unit of measure for aviation (altitude, or flight level) is usually estimated based on air pressure values, and in many countries, it is still described in nominal feet, although many others employ nominal metres. The policies of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) relating to measurement are:
  • there should be a single system of units throughout the world
  • the single system should be the SI
  • the use of the foot for altitude is a permitted variation.
Consistent with ICAO policy, aviation has undergone a significant amount of metrication over the years. For example, runway lengths are usually given in metres. The United States metricated the data interchange format (METAR) for temperature reports in 1996.[84] Metrication is also gradually taking place in cargo weights and dimensions and in fuel volumes and weights.
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