Stay two metres apart – or if you prefer imperial measures, 6ft 6in

TWO-METRE coronavirus social distancing signs can be expressed in yards and inches, the Government has said, after complaints from campaigners that they are unlawful.

Councils and government departments have put up signs across the country saying “Covid-19 Stay 2m apart” to encourage people to practise social distancing during the pandemic.

However, the British Weights and Measures Association complained in a letter to Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, that the signs breached existing legal rules, suggesting that “a reminder to “stay apart” is sufficient”.

John Gardner, the association’s director, pointed out the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (Schedule 18 Part 3) state that the “permitted expressions of distance” are imperial measurements.

Mr Gardner said in the letter it was “government policy not to use metric units of distance on traffic signs”.

He added: “If the Department of Transport insists on measurements being used on these signs, the units should be yards or feet. But we also suggest there is no need to use units of measurement on these signs at all.

“As well as two metres having no definitive basis in science (Germany uses 1.5 metres, and Norway one), the signs will impose a degree of precision and control that is both unhealthy and unrealistic. A reminder to ‘stay apart’ is sufficient.” Mr Gardner also pointed to a letter last year from Chris Grayling, Mr Shapps’s predecessor, to councils reminding them that “distances shown on traffic signs on public highways in Great Britain must be in imperial units, ie miles, miles and yards, or yards. Metric units are not permitted as a measurement of distance”.

In reply, dated June 24, a Department for Transport official said: “The legend on the Covid-19 temporary signs has been chosen to support the central messaging on social distancing from Number 10.

“A local authority can include the imperial units (6ft 6in) on the signs if they wish.”

Matters of enforcing the rules were for the Home Office and police to consider, the official said.