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The main exception is the United States. Although metrication is the official policy of the United States, the progress of metrication has been much slower in the United States than in the rest of the world. The nonmetric units continue to be frequently used in everyday life, and in commerce and engineering. However, progress has still been made: most products within the U.S. are now labelled with both metric and nonmetric units; and an increasing number of companies and government agencies are switching to metric standards. The U.S. continues to use only miles for road distance signs. Originally U.S. legislation set October 2000 as a deadline by which states must undertake construction work and statistics in metric for states to be eligible for Federal funding, but that requirement has since been rescinded. States can still voluntarily change over, and some have, such as California state highways. Some small scale temporary experiments have been undertaken with metric road signs, but there are as yet no plans for permanent, large-scale conversion. |
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The main exception is the United States. Although metrication is the official policy of the United States, the progress of metrication has been much slower in the United States than in the rest of the world. The nonmetric units continue to be frequently used in everyday life, and in commerce and engineering. However, progress has still been made: most products within the U.S. are now labelled with both metric and nonmetric units; and an increasing number of companies and government agencies are switching to metric standards. The U.S. continues to use only miles for road distance signs. Originally U.S. legislation set October 2000 as a deadline by which states must undertake construction work and statistics in metric for states to be eligible for Federal funding, but that requirement has since been rescinded. States can still voluntarily change over, and some have, such as California state highways. Some small scale temporary experiments have been undertaken with metric road signs, but there are as yet no plans for permanent, large-scale conversion. Metric units are generally used in scientific applications in the USA with some few exceptions. |
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Europe generally uses metric units for almost all purposes, and uses metric standards. Although some nonmetric units are still popularly used in some countries, they have no legal status. The United Kingdom and Ireland are the main exception, which are still in the process of phasing out the legal status of nonmetric units. Thus they use a mixture of metric and nonmetric units for different purposes. The United Kingdom is currently in the process of abolishing the use of nonmetric units; as of 2000, all lose goods sold by mass must be sold using metric units. UK policy is to eliminate almost all nonmetric units by 2009, except for road signs. Ireland is generally more advanced than the United Kingdom, but still lags behind the rest of Europe; conversion of speed limit signs to kilometres per an hour was not completed until 2001. Metrication for all EU member states is required under EU law, with a target date of 2009 by which all products in Europe must be sold only by metric units, with some limited exceptions. |
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Europe generally uses metric units for almost all purposes, and uses metric standards. Although some nonmetric units are still popularly used in some countries, they have no legal status. The United Kingdom and Ireland are the main exception, which are still in the process of phasing out the legal status of nonmetric units. Thus they use a mixture of metric and nonmetric units for different purposes. The United Kingdom is currently in the process of abolishing the use of nonmetric units; as of 2000, all loose goods sold by mass must be sold using metric units. UK policy is to eliminate almost all nonmetric units by 2009, except for road signs. Ireland is generally more advanced than the United Kingdom, but still lags behind the rest of Europe; conversion of speed limit signs to kilometres per an hour was not completed until 2001. Metrication for all EU member states is required under EU law, with a target date of 2009 by which all products in Europe must be sold only by metric units, with some limited exceptions. |
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