British road signs could soon go metric… TO STOP FOREIGN DRIVERS HITTING THEM…
One in ten lorries which hit low bridges involve EU truckers confused by feet and inches.
Transport cheifs are in talks about displaying height warnings in both imerial and metric and even speed limits in KMS as well as miles.
Robin Paice of the UK Metric Association said “Its common sense . It would also save money by reducing bridge strikes which hold up traffic.”
But UK Independance Party MEP Derek Clarke warned “Its the thin edge of the wedge.”
Surely Mr Jean For-eigner should be using some, and realising that a bridge sign showing 14’ 0’’ isn’t showin metres, as that’d be a 45 foot tall bridge and no ■■■■■■ would have a chance of hitting that
Just change all the distance and speed limit signs to furlongs and furlongs per hour because even the continentals know that 5 furlongs equals a kilometer.
Santa:
Confuses me too - I thought we went metric in the 70s? Only the Yanks and Canadians use pounds and ounces/feet and inches these days.
The Canadians are fully metric, the yanks well…
The trouble with Britain is it’s half arsed, speeds in imperial, weights in both, heights in both, surely it should be one or the other? & bollox to the foreigners, they make no concessions for us, typical of our decision makers that is, just bend over & take it up the tea towel holder, of course it gives them a chance to spend taxpayers money so no doubt they’ll be doing a risk assesment as we speak BOCs…
Agree with newmercman, why should we have to do anything for the foreigner■■? THEY are coming to our Country and it is up to THEM to adopt our rules. If anyone hits a bridge then they shouldn’t be driving lorries really, we are all professional drivers and these things are basic training excersises. You pick up a trailer, you check it’s legit etc (or do you) then away you go. Check route FOR LOW BRIDGES, all ok away again. I cannot see the problem~■■
It is like someone picking up the wrong trailer You get a trailer number ffs, (sometimes seal number) but it still happens - WHY■■? These people don’t deserve to drive a lorry and should be sacked. There really is no excuse.
And back to topic…Judging by the bridge hits I hear on the radio would it really matter what language they were in?
Santa:
Confuses me too - I thought we went metric in the 70s? Only the Yanks and Canadians use pounds and ounces/feet and inches these days.
The Canadians are fully metric, the yanks well…
That’s a surprise newmercman.When did the yanks change over to metric?.That would be shock to them I’d have thought.I thought that they still weigh trucks in lbs not tonnes and speeds and distances are still miles the US gallon is still alive and kicking and they would’nt know a litre is just under a quart?.Although when they start shooting at each other they often prefer a 9 mm to a .45?.
Santa:
Confuses me too - I thought we went metric in the 70s? Only the Yanks and Canadians use pounds and ounces/feet and inches these days.
The Canadians are fully metric, the yanks well…
That’s a surprise newmercman.When did the yanks change over to metric?.That would be shock to them I’d have thought.I thought that they still weigh trucks in lbs not tonnes and speeds and distances are still miles the US gallon is still alive and kicking and they would’nt know a litre is just under a quart?.Although when they start shooting at each other they often prefer a 9 mm to a .45?.
Where did I say the yanks are metric? my comment was ‘the yanks, well…’ the …'s are a method of communicating something that is not actually being said, if you know what I mean In this case my point was that the yanks go their own way, neither imperial or metric, like the US gallon, now do you get it…
Santa:
Confuses me too - I thought we went metric in the 70s? Only the Yanks and Canadians use pounds and ounces/feet and inches these days.
The Canadians are fully metric, the yanks well…
That’s a surprise newmercman.When did the yanks change over to metric?.That would be shock to them I’d have thought.I thought that they still weigh trucks in lbs not tonnes and speeds and distances are still miles the US gallon is still alive and kicking and they would’nt know a litre is just under a quart?.Although when they start shooting at each other they often prefer a 9 mm to a .45?.
Where did I say the yanks are metric? my comment was ‘the yanks, well…’ the …'s are a method of communicating something that is not actually being said, if you know what I mean In this case my point was that the yanks go their own way, neither imperial or metric, like the US gallon, now do you get it…
My mistake newmercman I misread it as the yanks ‘as well’.But in keeping with the topic if they’re right over here then the Canadians would also keep bashing bridges in the States and the yanks would be running out of diesel in Canada by putting in 200 litres instead of gallons and the Canadians would be flooding the garages in the States by trying to put in nearly a 1,000 gallons.
Carryfast:
My mistake newmercman I misread it as the yanks ‘as well’.But in keeping with the topic if they’re right over here then the Canadians would also keep bashing bridges in the States and the yanks would be running out of diesel in Canada by putting in 200 litres instead of gallons and the Canadians would be flooding the garages in the States by trying to put in nearly a 1,000 gallons.
You would think so, but the average American doesn’t come into Canada, a few do, but most stay away, the Canadians have got the Canada/US/Canada market pretty much sown up, they can’t work out the speed in KM/H, that’s for sure, they either do 55MPH or are flat out, bridges are not really a problem, there aren’t that many about except in city centers & most truck traffic is kept away from them, not by truck bans, but by the industrial areas being on the outskirts, for the most part anyway.
Fuel not really a problem as everyone fills up to the brim most of the time, the people that are only putting a bit in to get them to somewhere that it’s cheaper have got enough brains to work it out I suppose.
None of it seems a problem really TBH, I think the sign issue in the UK is just a waste of time & money, when the Brits used to regularly go into Europe & beyond we had to deal with metric signs, different languages, currencies etc, we never had a problem, same with the foreigners coming to the UK, ok so the odd one gets stuck at the Blackwall Tunnel or clouts a bridge, but so do British lorries with British drivers, the signs for that are in metric & imperial anyway so it makes no difference.
IMO you dont hit a bridge because you’re too high, you hit it because you’re a knobhead!
Carryfast:
My mistake newmercman I misread it as the yanks ‘as well’.But in keeping with the topic if they’re right over here then the Canadians would also keep bashing bridges in the States and the yanks would be running out of diesel in Canada by putting in 200 litres instead of gallons and the Canadians would be flooding the garages in the States by trying to put in nearly a 1,000 gallons.
You would think so, but the average American doesn’t come into Canada, a few do, but most stay away, the Canadians have got the Canada/US/Canada market pretty much sown up, they can’t work out the speed in KM/H, that’s for sure, they either do 55MPH or are flat out, bridges are not really a problem, there aren’t that many about except in city centers & most truck traffic is kept away from them, not by truck bans, but by the industrial areas being on the outskirts, for the most part anyway.
Fuel not really a problem as everyone fills up to the brim most of the time, the people that are only putting a bit in to get them to somewhere that it’s cheaper have got enough brains to work it out I suppose.
None of it seems a problem really TBH, I think the sign issue in the UK is just a waste of time & money, when the Brits used to regularly go into Europe & beyond we had to deal with metric signs, different languages, currencies etc, we never had a problem, same with the foreigners coming to the UK, ok so the odd one gets stuck at the Blackwall Tunnel or clouts a bridge, but so do British lorries with British drivers, the signs for that are in metric & imperial anyway so it makes no difference.
IMO you dont hit a bridge because you’re too high, you hit it because you’re a knobhead!
It’s just typical nanny state politically correct government bs that we keep on getting fed to us here and I was only having a laugh about those non existent fuel filling issues.If we can’t work out a few differences between measurements in different countries there’s not much point in looking for that type of job.You’re right about those bridges there as they’ve always seemed to use a lot more level crossings for railways.But they’ve often used gantries with chains and heavy bits of metal etc. hanging before bridges in Europe and they use that idea on the Blackwall so if you still hit it after that you’d need to be deaf as well.But we do keep hearing a lot of different non existent problems which I reckon that the government here is just trying to invent to gradually throw a spanner in the works of international road transport.I’m surprised that the US haulage industry seems to be finding it difficult to compete with the Canadians because they both seem to have a reasonable amount of freedom to operate under the regs and fuel costs.
I got the fuel joke! put that bit about brains in as a joke myself seeing as we’re doing jokes that take explaining
The Canadians have got it sown up as most of the US companys don’t want to come up here, the Canadians have used that to their advantage over the years & ■■■■■■■ most of the work, it may change if the economy stays bad in the USA, hope not as we get some good runs going down south.
I agree 100% about the nanny state, it’s why I’m in Canada, all the bollox you have to put up with nowadays, I’d be locked up before too long
newmercman:
I got the fuel joke! put that bit about brains in as a joke myself seeing as we’re doing jokes that take explaining
The Canadians have got it sown up as most of the US companys don’t want to come up here, the Canadians have used that to their advantage over the years & ■■■■■■■ most of the work, it may change if the economy stays bad in the USA, hope not as we get some good runs going down south.
I agree 100% about the nanny state, it’s why I’m in Canada, all the bollox you have to put up with nowadays, I’d be locked up before too long
Luckily for me,so far,I’ve been retired for 10 years with a back problem so I’ve not been hit by most of the recent stuff which the government and EU are throwing at the industry but I’m probably going back doing some part time as an owner driver on Continental work next year maybe.But the best years here were over before I even got started in the early 1980’s.But at least I’m not going to get done for hours with the amount I’m planning to do and the same with the speeds because I won’t need to do many miles over a month for the amount I want to earn.I’ll probably be driving the last Brit truck running over there.
BOCs…
In this case my point was that the yanks go their own way, neither imperial or metric, like the US gallon, now do you get it… 
