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For those not following along with the joke, "Ausfahrt" is German for "exit", and "Umleitung" is "detour". It was a typical military joke we would play on newcomers when they asked directions: "Just get off the Autobahn at Ausfahrt, and follow the signs to Umleitung!"

By the way, millions of Europeans navigate in other countries just fine without speaking the native language. The traffic signs are all self-evident ideograms or pictograms. Signs that you have to read, instead of grasp instantly, are poorly designed. My experience is that America and England are the only major western countries that use words instead of symbols. (I haven't driven in Canada or Mexico; they might be the same way for all I know.)

We used the examples of Ausfahrt and Umleitung, which are definitely German words, but the size, shape, color, and pictograms are standard throughout the continent. You don't have to be able to read the words to know what the signs mean.

America isn't all that different: road signs are pretty standardized, and can be understood without reading English. As for those "special instruction" signs, even Texas natives have trouble deciphering the "English" flashing signs in construction zones: "WB IH30 CLSD 9P-6A USE FRNTG RD" needs translation, even for those who grew up here. I pity the poor truck driver trying to make sense of such gibberish at highway speeds.

Kevinf2349 wrote:

android wrote: My only snag was I never could find the town of Ausfahrt and I drove around all day long looking for it.

Classic!

I had a visitor who actually asked me how come there were lots of streets name "Frontage Road" in Texas

I've heard "professional" truck drivers born and raised in the U S of A ask similar questions.
In different parts of the country, they're called by different names, "frontage road," "access road," or "service road." That's obvious to most of us. But take a newbie driver who has never heard one of those terms and plop him down in an area of the country that uses a term with which he's not familiar, and you get him on the CB radio asking for directions because he was told to get off on "Frontage Rd" and he wants to know if anyone can tell him where Frontage Rd is.

he wants to know if anyone can tell him where Frontage Rd is.

I'll wager he knows where Rhode Island is.

When I first moved to the DFW area back in the 80's I thought that Turnaround Rd. along highway 114 through Grapevine was one twisty road until I started noticing that every time there was a sign for this road there was a paved area between the two directions. Duh!

I thought I saw something on the news that after reviewing this officers citations that there another 38 just like this. There was also something about it still being an option in the computer or something that was going to be removed.

There are so many signs with statements that if you do not how to read English you can be in trouble.

Like:
1) No turn on red
2) Speed limit 60
3) Yield on green
4) Yield to ramp
etc...

chabouk wrote:... (I haven't driven in Canada or Mexico; they might be the same way for all I know.)...

I have driven in Mexico a little. The have a sign at intersections that is shaped just like our STOP sign. It has ALTO on it but evidently it doesn't mean the same thing.

Beiruty wrote:There are so many signs with statements that if you do not how to read English you can be in trouble.

Like:
1) No turn on red
2) Speed limit 60
3) Yield on green
4) Yield to ramp
etc...

1) Not so much of an issue to some countrys where turning on any red is illegal. Red is the universal stop color.
2) The big 60 is usually a give away.
3) Definately the most dangerous to not know what it means. Like red is to stop, green is to go.
4) Heck Texans don't know what this one means and they can read English!

Remember too that it isn't just non-English speaking residents that drive. We also have overseas tourists who nobody would really expect to speak or write English so making signs universal would probably be the safest option.

ninemm wrote:

chabouk wrote:... (I haven't driven in Canada or Mexico; they might be the same way for all I know.)...

I have driven in Mexico a little. The have a sign at intersections that is shaped just like our STOP sign. It has ALTO on it but evidently it doesn't mean the same thing.

Sounds like it means exactly the same thing it means in Dallas or Houston!

Another interesting fact English only beat German out by a couple of votes.

Sort of, but not quite true. http://www.snopes.com/language/apocryph/german.asp

joe817 wrote:I strongly believe that any resident of these United States must be required to speak THE recognized legal language of the land which is English. That is all. Out.

As I understand it, there is no "recognized legal language" in the USA. English is simply the one we commonly use.

Purplehood wrote:

joe817 wrote:I strongly believe that any resident of these United States must be required to speak THE recognized legal language of the land which is English. That is all. Out.

As I understand it, there is no "recognized legal language" in the USA. English is simply the one we commonly use.

What did they write the Bill of Rights in? French? nope

joe817 wrote:I strongly believe that any resident of these United States must be required to speak THE recognized legal language of the land which is English. That is all. Out.

with Joe .

don't care if its "legal" , "recognized" or not ....speak the language !
if you can't speak it , learn it !

over and out .

There was more about this on the news this morning and it is something that can be selected, but it is for CDL's. For some reason, this guy was able to select it even when the licensee was not a CDL.

chabouk said: America isn't all that different: road signs are pretty standardized,

The reason that American road signs are very standardized is due to a document/standard known as
MUTCD, the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

The MUTCD details sign colors, sign sizes, locations, and a million other minutiae about how to sign/mark
a highway.

The website, for those who would like to browse this document is www.mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov

For many years I have called in road issues and this source of data defines how signage is determined.

SIA

surprise_i'm_armed wrote:chabouk said: America isn't all that different: road signs are pretty standardized,

The reason that American road signs are very standardized is due to a document/standard known as
MUTCD, the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.

The MUTCD details sign colors, sign sizes, locations, and a million other minutiae about how to sign/mark
a highway.

The website, for those who would like to browse this document is www.mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov

For many years I have called in road issues and this source of data defines how signage is determined.

SIA

That is correct, however, you forgot to mention that each state can, and frequently does, have their OWN MUTCD in addition to the Federal one.

Texas Does have their own, as well.
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/sta ... xas/tx.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Generally these define even more restrictions than the Federal one, and differ from state to state. That is why, even though the main things are the same, as you pass between states, you will notice some small differences