Drivers unimpressed as ministers mull metric road signs

As if British drivers didn't already have enough to worry about, what with fuel prices in danger of soaring over the next few years and ministers being accused of neglecting the nation's roads in favour of its railways, they could soon have to bring their maths up to speed to understand road signs.

For, with the Department of Transport having reported that one in ten 'bridge strikes' - where a lorry tries and fails to fit under a bridge - are caused by foreign drivers unfamiliar with imperial units, metric could soon be the language of the road.

Under the proposals, which have unsurprisingly won the approval of Network Rail - the owners of the damaged railway bridges - height warning signs would be given in metres and centimeters rather than the existing system of yards, feet and inches.

And while some opponents of the plans have claimed that Britain is being slowly and unwillingly drawn in to the "continental mindset", other, more favourable critics have argued that they don't go far enough as they would see a dual-measurement system introduced, with drivers bombarded with information.

"We welcome this fairly modest proposal, which we think is just common sense and a safety measure," Robin Paice, the chairman of the UK Metric Association told the Daily Mail.

"But I think it is a real shame that they have not followed this to its logical conclusion."

However, some observers could be forgiven for welcoming the fact that even a little money is to be spent on upgrading the nation's roads, even if it is the controversial changing of road signs.

According to new figures obtained by the Taxpayers' Alliance alongside the Drivers' Alliance, the government is currently ploughing ten times as much money into rail than it is into road travel.

This is in spite of the fact that, according to the latter group, road users already pay "huge amounts of tax" into the Treasury coffers.

The campaigning group cited statistics that show the amount of money spent per 1,000 passenger kilometers travelled now stands at £138.66 for rail and just £11.11 for road.

However, while the figures do support the argument that "motorists are getting a raw deal", given the growing national concern for environmental issues, it will take a brave politician to suggest that more needs to be spent on encouraging Britons to ditch public transport and get buying new cars instead.