Buckstones:
more seriously it has happened in pharmacies and hospitals when dispensing and prescribing drugs.
One episode of Air Crash Investigation was about a plane flying over the Atlantic that had to crash land on Ascension Island coz the pilot miscalculated the fuel requirement when everything changed from imperial to metric. He had to glide in from dozens of miles away and only just made it.
dri-diddly-iver:
Buckstones:
a railway locomotive is 61ft 6in long, isn’t that easier to visualise than the length which would be given on the official design drawing these days of 18745 mm?That’s what I mean! Metres I can sort of grasp, centimetres is reasonable but millimetres is a no no
Ok so the decimal point goes in another place but I’m knocking on in years and after sorting out the mm to cm and then m - google for translation
Need some fencing sorting so go to local timber yard - following conversation:
Me: “I want 3 lengths of 6’ 3” 2" please".
Salesperson: “Eh”.
Me: " I would like 3 pieces of timber 6’ long and width and breadth of 3" by 2" please".
Salesperson: “What type of fencing is it exactly you’re looking for”.
Me: “I think you misunderstand. (pause for his youngness) I would like some wood to help replace my fence”
Salesperson: "Ahh we have a good selection over here depending on what size you require. (points to fence panels)
Me: “No, I need the stakes/stumps that hold those up”.
Salesperson: “but you said you wanted 6, 3 x 2 metres of fence panels”
Me: "For fu - (wife interruption)That is a TRUE story. I was there, I took part and it is not RDC whatsit!!
…The RDC version of the Story would have been “I’d like to buy an 18.475m locomotive unit please”…
“Would you like that one in metal effect, wood, or ceramic sir?” 
cargocargocargo:
And don’t get me started on distances less than an inch!
I’m an ex-engineer. Specifically CNC Programming. We programmed everything in metric apart from one company I worked for which was American and everything was done in imperial.
As much as I prefer imperial in every day life the metric system is better for programming. Gimme millimetres and microns any day over inches, tenths and thous.
Terry T:
One episode of Air Crash Investigation was about a plane flying over the Atlantic that had to crash land on Ascension Island coz the pilot miscalculated the fuel requirement when everything changed from imperial to metric. He had to glide in from dozens of miles away and only just made it.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of the Gimli Glider?
We should stop all this ■■■■■■■ around and go metric. Makes way more sense and is easier to understand
djw:
Terry T:
One episode of Air Crash Investigation was about a plane flying over the Atlantic that had to crash land on Ascension Island coz the pilot miscalculated the fuel requirement when everything changed from imperial to metric. He had to glide in from dozens of miles away and only just made it.Are you sure you’re not thinking of the Gimli Glider?
That does ring a bell now. There’s so many episodes to remember. Still, shocking set of events either way 
djw:
Terry T:
One episode of Air Crash Investigation was about a plane flying over the Atlantic that had to crash land on Ascension Island coz the pilot miscalculated the fuel requirement when everything changed from imperial to metric. He had to glide in from dozens of miles away and only just made it.Are you sure you’re not thinking of the Gimli Glider?
Yup, got confused with this one.
The conundrum that springs to mind is picking up a skelly and a container. The box is likely to be marked height 9’ 6" and the unit marked fifth wheel height 1250mm, however the skelly is not marked at all, so how tall is it from the face that mates with the fifth wheel to the face on which the box sits? Pick it up with a lifted centre axle Scania and how high IS it?
My first job after school was at a timber yard. First thing I learnt was how to convert imperial to metric and vice versa.
3.281 feet in a metre. Write it on a sticky, and put it on your sun visor.
Cav, bolster height at front of trailer on Scania, assuming it is a mid-lift, not a tag, will be about 5 ft, or 1.5m. Add your actual box height to that. So travel height with a high-cube will be 14ft 6in.
If you are changing trucks constantly, stand by front bolster, and measure against yourself, for a good rule of thumb. To eliminate any guess work, carry a cheap tape measure. Never guess on bridges. I would never chance a 14ft6in bridge with a high-cube. Roads get re-surfaced etc.
Not sure why people take so much notice of actual fifth wheel height. Means nothing without trailer dimensions. Most important to know deck height at fifth wheel though. Internal height will nearly always be on trailer, so you can pretty much always get a realistic travel height, once front bolster height is established.
Beaver, I still have an idiot card on visor. After 30yrs, still think it is essential. Travel height with all trailers and containers I use, in imperial and metres. Width of vehicle too, and tyre sizes…I can never remember them! doh.
Thank you for that Janos, I had come to a similar conclusion and then added a little for safety. As you say 14’ 6" seems just a little too close for comfort.
I feel sorry for the newly qualified drivers confronted with this mish-mash of measurements which leaves out the vital missing link between box and unit.
Again as you say the only way round it is to carry a tape measure.
switchlogic:
We should stop all this ■■■■■■■ around and go metric. Makes way more sense and is easier to understand
Precisely the point and the fifth wheel travelling height should be on the back of the cab and the trailer should also be clearly marked too!
eagerbeaver:
My first job after school was at a timber yard. First thing I learnt was how to convert imperial to metric and vice versa.3.281 feet in a metre. Write it on a sticky, and put it on your sun visor.
You still got yours on your large forehead? 
switchlogic:
We should stop all this ■■■■■■■ around and go metric. Makes way more sense and is easier to understand
metric means 10 fingers for counting.feet and inches means someone british invented it because chains and furlongs wernt enough to mess your head with. if britains in the eu,then why dont we have euro and metric anyway ?
cav551:
There have been a couple of threads running recently relating to vehicle height and tunnel signs and the consequences of missing or misreading the signs. For me, I just cannot picture in my mind the difference between 4.8 m and 5m nor 4.2 and 4.3 etc etc, but I can immediately recognise the difference in imperial measurements; 3" or 6" increments I can relate to.
From the point of view of tolerances and accuracy feet and inches win out.On that note metric height and width measurements on road signs as in your example is like expressing them in yards and tenths of yards.Which probably explains why such measurements ( rightly ) look so stupidly alien. 
dieseldog999:
switchlogic:
We should stop all this ■■■■■■■ around and go metric. Makes way more sense and is easier to understandmetric means 10 fingers for counting.feet and inches means someone british invented it because chains and furlongs wernt enough to mess your head with. if britains in the eu,then why dont we have euro and metric anyway ?
The Romans knew a thing or two about engineering. 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_R … easurement
The question then being would you prefer something machined to a tolerance +/- 2 thou or .2 of a millimetre and/or bridges marked to a tolerance of +/- .1 of a yard instead of 1 inch. 
You’d hate my job. It’s a unit alphabet spaghetti. Fuel supplies in litres converted to kgs, sometimes pounds then into tonnes. That ok. Then length measured in feet. Weight and balance moment arms in inches but masses in kilos and tonnes. Distance in feet, sometimes metres. Wind speed measured in knots but sometimes metres per second. Sometimes in magnetic, sometimes true. Height measured in feet, but sometimes metres. Pressure in hectopascals, but sometimes in inches. I wouldn’t be surprised to see units of aardvarks and unicorns appearing.
Freight Dog:
You’d hate my job. It’s a unit alphabet spaghetti. Fuel supplies in litres converted to kgs, sometimes pounds then into tonnes. That ok. Then length measured in feet. Weight and balance moment arms in inches but masses in kilos and tonnes. Distance in feet, sometimes metres. Wind speed measured in knots but sometimes metres per second. Sometimes in magnetic, sometimes true. Height measured in feet, but sometimes metres. Pressure in hectopascals, but sometimes in inches. I wouldn’t be surprised to see units of aardvarks and unicorns appearing.
Or height in miles at altitude but deffo best to know what it is in feet not metres when landing.
We can’t use metres, we have to use tables to convert. Not ideal when low down 
.Never say never but I’ve not had miles thrown at me for alt, yet. I bet NASA work in miles . Russia and China are the culprits. They are a safety nightmare.
