Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

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Barkstar
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Barkstar »

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.18509 ... !1e1?hl=en
Extreme precision like this? Which is 1.5 Napoleons, or a little under a mile.

In a similar vein this sign always makes me smile:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.85334 ... 6656?hl=en
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jonnyf90
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by jonnyf90 »

Barkstar wrote:https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.18509 ... !1e1?hl=en
Extreme precision like this? Which is 1.5 Napoleons, or a little under a mile.
Paha, why not move the sign up 120yds and make it a nice round mile?!
Barkstar wrote:In a similar vein this sign always makes me smile:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.85334 ... 6656?hl=en
Superb! :)
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Big L »

Quality is a bit ropey, but I found this in Crawley tonight.
IMG_20170228_192317174.jpg
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Berk
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Berk »

jonnyf90 wrote:
Barkstar wrote:https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.18509 ... !1e1?hl=en
Extreme precision like this? Which is 1.5 Napoleons, or a little under a mile.
Paha, why not move the sign up 120yds and make it a nice round mile?!
Strangely enough, that's what I've thought a 'metric mile' should be. So I would, in fact, take the last 5 chains out of the mile. :D

It would make the quarters nearer to 400, and the metric equivalent closer to dead on 1.5.
Barkstar wrote:In a similar vein this sign always makes me smile:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.85334 ... 6656?hl=en
Superb! :)
It took me quite a while to 'get' this!! :laugh:
Last edited by Berk on Wed Mar 01, 2017 17:53, edited 1 time in total.
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Chris Bertram
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Chris Bertram »

Berk wrote:
Barkstar wrote:In a similar vein this sign always makes me smile:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.85334 ... 6656?hl=en
Superb! :)
It took me quite a while to 'get' this!! :laugh:
I've always enjoyed seeing signs to Littleover (in Derby), when it says Littleover 3, you do wonder if that's a bit of an underestimate.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by A9NWIL »

Chris Bertram wrote:
Berk wrote:
Barkstar wrote:In a similar vein this sign always makes me smile:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.85334 ... 6656?hl=en
Superb! :)
It took me quite a while to 'get' this!! :laugh:
I've always enjoyed seeing signs to Littleover (in Derby), when it says Littleover 3, you do wonder if that's a bit of an underestimate.
What you have to think is 1 1/2 what? it has no distance unit, just the number which leaves you wondering! I guess if your British you assume its miles, but even then you cant just take it for granted either way, eg the sign makers shouldnt take it for granted that drivers will know and neither should drivers that its miles that they were trying to portray.
Berk wrote:
jonnyf90 wrote:
Barkstar wrote:https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.18509 ... !1e1?hl=en
Extreme precision like this? Which is 1.5 Napoleons, or a little under a mile.
Paha, why not move the sign up 120yds and make it a nice round mile?!
Strangely enough, that's what I've thought a 'metric mile' should be. So I would, in fact, take the last 5 chains out of the mile. :D

It would make the quarters nearer to 400, and the metric equivalent closer to dead on 1.5.
Yes a Metric mile would be a good idea, it might make some more sympathetic to the Metric system.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Bryn666 »

Surely 'metric miles' would confuse everyone far more than just adopting the standard 1000 metre interval for a kilometre... :confused: :confused: :confused:
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by boing_uk »

403 YDS

Oh so many things wrong with that...
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Dougman »

66 yds The wig wag diagram doesn't look right to me either, the circles are too small and the spacing of the text is wrong, although the one across the road is right!
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Bryn666 »

Should say 'when lights show' as well.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by nirs »

I'm glad someone brought this up. I too sometimes wonder how useful it really is to drivers to be quite so precise (like 190 yards to a Give Way).
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Chris Bertram »

What is the disadvantage in being precise? If you know it's 190 yds to the Give Way sign, why not say so?
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by A9NWIL »

Dougman wrote:66 yds The wig wag diagram doesn't look right to me either, the circles are too small and the spacing of the text is wrong, although the one across the road is right!
This is what happens when the anti-metric brigade get their hands on signs ILLEGALLY!:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.73167 ... 312!8i6656

How are people that only know metric supposed to know, or people who can convert but think in metric, like me, able to convert on the fly? Answer not possible!
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by nirs »

Chris Bertram wrote:What is the disadvantage in being precise? If you know it's 190 yds to the Give Way sign, why not say so?
Well, I think it just takes a bit more thought. 200 is a figure you see all the time. 190 sort of makes you double take. And I guess it's probably not 190 either. It might be 191.376... there has to be some limit to accuracy and 10m feels a little finely-grained for vehicles.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by A9NWIL »

nirs wrote:
Chris Bertram wrote:What is the disadvantage in being precise? If you know it's 190 yds to the Give Way sign, why not say so?
Well, I think it just takes a bit more thought. 200 is a figure you see all the time. 190 sort of makes you double take. And I guess it's probably not 190 either. It might be 191.376... there has to be some limit to accuracy and 10m feels a little finely-grained for vehicles.
are you saying its likely to be 175 metres?
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Bryn666 »

nirs wrote:I'm glad someone brought this up. I too sometimes wonder how useful it really is to drivers to be quite so precise (like 190 yards to a Give Way).
The bigger issue is the fact the sign is hidden by trees... ;-)
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Bryn666 »

And not wanting go be left out, Blackburn has joined the club.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Bryn666 »

It follows on from this one...
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Stevie D »

Chris Bertram wrote:What is the disadvantage in being precise? If you know it's 190 yds to the Give Way sign, why not say so?
Because round numbers (to one significant figure) are easier to process than those with extra digits. Most drivers can read and visualise 200yds quicker than 190yds, but in practical terms they are the same, drivers wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference between them.
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Re: Unnecessarily Accurate Distances on Signs

Post by Al__S »

hi, new member. out in the depths of Norfolk there's a number of 142 yard signs

This isn't the only one, there's a few in a small area (but I can't track them down right now). That's 130m in sensible units. But that doesn't really solve the mystery of why these signs are at that specific distance.
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