Metric Motoring

'Miles are a thing of the past'

Unlike the catchy 'Dollars and Cents' jingle of yesteryears, these ads took a no-nonsense approach. Stark graphics and a voice-over meant serious business, conveying the gravity of mistaking your miles for kilometres.

Meanwhile, the radio waves hummed with a lighter cadence. Ads peppered with familial banter – dads testing their kids on metric trivia and spouses playfully nudging each other towards metric enlightenment – ensured the tagline 'Miles are a thing of the past' was etched in the collective memory, possibly accompanied by an eye-roll or two.

Alongside the advertising campaign, motorists were being prepped for ‘M-Day’ with wide distribution of educational pamphlets and dashboard stickers showing a conversion chart.

Car manufacturers had already been installing dual speedometers in new vehicles, suitable for the metrically enlightened and the imperially nostalgic.

The switch itself was an operation worthy of a spy novel. Cloaked metric signs stood alongside their imperial predecessors, ready for the grand conversion month.1

Across NSW alone, approximately 16,500 speed limit signs were replaced and many relocated for improved visibility.2

The coordinated strategy mitigated the chaos one might expect when a country redefines its road rules overnight. Concerns from industry bodies and motoring organisations, including those voiced by the NRMA3, were allayed. Archival newspaper accounts suggest the transition was a well-oiled one.

Metrication memories

The NFSA also tapped some veteran drivers for their personal recollections.

Barbara K, who was then a 21-year-old production assistant and a resident of Sydney’s eastern suburbs, recalls, ‘The transition was pretty smooth from memory. I was on my provisional licence in 1974 and wasn’t too long out of school. By that time, we already had a bit of experience with using the metric system, so I understood it.’

Brendan S, who grew up near Goulburn and had been driving around the family farm since age eight, offers a more spirited narrative. ‘As a younger person, it was easier to adapt than the generations above me. I got my licence in 1971 and my second car was manufactured in ‘73, so the speed gauge had dual markings showing both miles and kilometres. But when I jumped in the old family car, I still had to do the mental calculations, 60 and 100 – those two were easy, but I still recall the odd butt-clenching feeling approaching an 80km sign and having to quickly do the maths.’

Paula B, a schoolteacher from Sydney’s west says she didn’t do much driving herself in 1974, but her husband was a ‘lead foot’ and her clearest memory is that some speed limits actually increased with the conversion. ‘I was always telling him ‘slow down’ and ‘you’re over the speed limit’. Then bang – overnight he had a legitimate excuse to go faster!’

The Metric Motoring ad campaign was a significant milestone in Australia's metrication, moving us forward kilometre by kilometre. Similar initiatives rolled out across agriculture, retail and beyond through the remainder of the '70s, paving the road for a fully metricated society.

In 1981, the Metric Conversion Board was finally dissolved, mission accomplished.

References

1 Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce 1992, Metrication in Australia, retrieved 24 June 2024.

2 Commissioner for Motor Transport NSW 1975, Annual Report 1974–1975, retrieved 24 June 2024.

3 1974, 'Warning on metric signs by NRMA', The Canberra Times, 1 July, p. 1, retrieved 24 June 2024.