Why does England still use miles?
England still uses miles for road distances and speed limits because the UK only partly adopted the metric system. Most measurements are metric, but road signs, pints of beer and some everyday measures remain imperial.
The United Kingdom began converting to metric units in 1965, and many areas, including science, schools and most retail, now use metric measures. Food is sold in grams and kilograms, and fuel is sold in litres.
However, the government never completed the change for roads. Converting thousands of road signs would have been expensive, and there was public resistance.
A mix of systems
Today, British people commonly use a mix of systems. Distances and speeds are in miles and miles per hour, while temperatures are usually given in degrees Celsius.
Beer and cider in pubs are sold in pints, and milk can still be sold in pint bottles. People often give their height in feet and inches and their weight in stones and pounds.
Under European Union rules, the UK had to use metric for many products but kept exemptions for road signs and pints. After Brexit, there has been debate about allowing more imperial measures, but metric remains standard in most areas.