What would happen if you went a speed in MPH when it was actually in Km/h?

[Neddyfram]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

[NE2]

I think you're foreign and mad.

[1995hoo]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

[jeffandnicole]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

What if you saw someone driving a speed in km/h that was actually in MPH?  They'll be driving practically half the speed the should be doing.  The result will be a lot of swerving motorists realizing nearly too late how slow that particular vehicle is going.  Unless you're right at the border, I'd think they're drunk, too old to be driving, or just an idiot, more so than thinking if the person was foreign.

[vdeane]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

Especially since every border crossing I've seen on the US/Canadian border has a sign about the speed limits being in metric.  I don't know if the UK/French border has similar signage though - it's probably even more necessary there since the speed limit signs are identical (unlike the US/Canada).

[algorerhythms]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

My idiot cousin tried that once. He ended up paying several hundred dollars in fines (and despite the movie Canadian Bacon, several hundred Canadian dollars is several hundred U.S. dollars).

[Pete from Boston]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

They would tell you that you should wait until you're old enough to drive.

Welcome to the engaging world of the AARoads forums.  All of it is this interesting.

[1995hoo]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

Especially since every border crossing I've seen on the US/Canadian border has a sign about the speed limits being in metric.  I don't know if the UK/French border has similar signage though - it's probably even more necessary there since the speed limit signs are identical (unlike the US/Canada).

Indeed. I thought of those signs after I posted. The sign format seems to vary around Canada, but I've always seen a sign. I have never flown into Canada, just out of Canada after a cruise down from Alaska, so I don't know whether the airports have similar signs. I do think some of the signs the provinces use for this could be better-designed to use a US-style "Speed Limit" sign next to a Canadian-style "Maximum" sign just to be clearer, but I also think you have to be incredibly stupid to cross the border, find yourself on a road similar to, but somewhat worse than, the one you were just on in the USA (I'm thinking of going from I-87 to Autoroute 15, for example), and think the speed limit has suddenly gone up to 100 mph.

I don't know about the UK/France issue either as I've never been to France. I did note that even in Edinburgh the airport had a sign, located shortly after you left the car hire places, in several language saying "Drive on the left." A check of Street View shows it was in English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish (in that order top to bottom). I do NOT remember any signs saying speed limits were in MPH.

Checking that prompted me to look for Street View images near the Chunnel exits, but the coverage was inadequate to determine what's there (as seems common with Street View near border crossings). Maybe one of our British friends will see this and will know the answer.

[mtantillo]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

Especially since every border crossing I've seen on the US/Canadian border has a sign about the speed limits being in metric.  I don't know if the UK/French border has similar signage though - it's probably even more necessary there since the speed limit signs are identical (unlike the US/Canada).

The UK/Irish land border (between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) has these signs at all border crossings. Because of the sensitive nature over the status of Northern Ireland, you will NEVER see a sign indicating that you are entering the UK or Ireland. You might see a sign indicating what county you are entering, but you will always see a sign alerting you that speed limits are posted in miles per hour, or km/hr, as applicable. In most cases, that is your one and only indication that you've crossed an international border, as there are no customs/immigration posts because both countries are part of the Common Travel Area.

[SignGeek101]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

In Ontario, they'd probably impound your vehicle. I believe they take away your licence as well.

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/topics/speed.shtml

[Scott5114]

Does the Ontario government have the ability to actually revoke a US-issued license, or can they simply ban you from driving in Ontario?

[CNGL-Leudimin]

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

That happens when your guys use a different system of that the rest of the world uses. I would never drive 161 km/h in a 63 mph zone, that is just dangerous (apart from the severe penalties). Personally if I was in the US and saw a Speed Limit 75 sign, I'd know I'm allowed to going at 121.

[jeffandnicole]

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

That happens when your guys use a different system of that the rest of the world uses. I would never drive 161 km/h in a 63 mph zone, that is just dangerous (apart from the severe penalties). Personally if I was in the US and saw a Speed Limit 75 sign, I'd know I'm allowed to going at 121.

You'll probably be allowed 5 mph over the 75 mph limit (or more).  But you lucky foreigners are allowed at least 8 km/h over the limit.

[PHLBOS]

Since 1979-1980; just about every vehicle sold in the North American market has speedometers calibrated in both MPH and km/h.  Even vehicles equipped with digital readouts have the ability to switch from MPH to km/h with a touch of a button.

The only difference is that vehicles sold in the US market have the MPH listed in larger numerals and km/h listed in smaller numerals.  Vehicles sold in the Canadian and Mexican markets are the opposite (km/h is the major display, MPH is the minor display).

That said, since this is 2014 and not 1980; the likelihood of somebody driving 100 mph (160 km/h) just because they misinterpreted a MAXIMUM 100 sign in Canada is not too likely... even if they're driving a very old car (a '69 Dodge Charger as an example).  In this day and age, if they're able to drive (& have a license); they should have been at least exposed to the metric system and be able to distinguish between MPH and km/h.

You'll probably be allowed 5 mph over the 75 mph limit (or more).  But you lucky foreigners are allowed at least 8 km/h over the limit.

Do keep in mind that posted speeds in km are at 10 km/h intervals vs. 5 MPH intervals in the US.  In short, one's not going to see a posted speed limit sign on a public road for 95 km/h; it'll either be 90 km/h or 100 km/h.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Would they think you're foreign or would they think you're mad?     

You'd potentially get a very serious ticket. There have been some dumbass Americans who have gotten pulled over in Canada for going 100 mph in a 100 km/h zone who have tried the idiotic "the sign said '100' and didn't clarify" argument. The courts do not take kindly to such an argument.

Especially since every border crossing I've seen on the US/Canadian border has a sign about the speed limits being in metric.  I don't know if the UK/French border has similar signage though - it's probably even more necessary there since the speed limit signs are identical (unlike the US/Canada).

Indeed. I thought of those signs after I posted. The sign format seems to vary around Canada, but I've always seen a sign. I have never flown into Canada, just out of Canada after a cruise down from Alaska, so I don't know whether the airports have similar signs. I do think some of the signs the provinces use for this could be better-designed to use a US-style "Speed Limit" sign next to a Canadian-style "Maximum" sign just to be clearer, but I also think you have to be incredibly stupid to cross the border, find yourself on a road similar to, but somewhat worse than, the one you were just on in the USA (I'm thinking of going from I-87 to Autoroute 15, for example), and think the speed limit has suddenly gone up to 100 mph.

I don't know about the UK/France issue either as I've never been to France. I did note that even in Edinburgh the airport had a sign, located shortly after you left the car hire places, in several language saying "Drive on the left." A check of Street View shows it was in English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish (in that order top to bottom). I do NOT remember any signs saying speed limits were in MPH.

In Quebec, there are "SIGNALISATION MÉTRIQUE" signs near airports, with the limit in both units and the one in mph crossed out; the same format they use at borders.

I've been in and out of the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier Intl Airport (YOW) and they don't seem to have any equivalent signage (note, there are no provincial highways around the airport, 417 is the only one).

[PHLBOS]

In Quebec, there are "SIGNALISATION MÉTRIQUE" signs near airports, with the limit in both units and the one in mph crossed out; the same format they use at borders.

I've been in and out of the Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier Intl Airport (YOW) and they don't seem to have any equivalent signage (note, there are no provincial highways around the airport, 417 is the only one).

And how many vehicles there don't have km/h listed speedometers (even in smaller print for a model from the US)?  Unless someone's driving a very old (40+ years) car; I wouldn't think there would be that much confusion over km/h vs. MPH.

[vdeane]

Even vehicles equipped with digital readouts have the ability to switch from MPH to km/h with a touch of a button.

I love that ability.  In the past I've always had the unit conversions at the back of my mind, but not with my new civic - just push the button and do everything natively in metric.  The only units I converted on my last trip were for the hotel thermostat.  No more small numbers for me!

[roadman]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

[jeffandnicole]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

I hate 50 km/h zones.

[roadman]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

I hate 50 km/h zones.

Concur.  That's right up there with donut places that have ten tables but only three parking spots.

[PHLBOS]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

Okay:

Sign in Canada reads MAXIMUM 80; obviously in km/h.

Half of 80 is 40 and 40 minus 30 = 10. 

Something's lost/missing in translation.  80 km/h does not equal 10 mph; it's equivalent to 50 mph

[1995hoo]

I assume it was intended to be a joke.

[Brandon]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

Okay:

Sign in Canada reads MAXIMUM 80; obviously in km/h.

Half of 80 is 40 and 40 minus 30 = 10. 

Something's lost/missing in translation.  80 km/h does not equal 10 mph; it's equivalent to 50 mph

It's a joke.  The MacKenzie Brothers (Bob and Doug) came out not too long after Canada switched to the French system of measurement.

[Pete from Boston]

It's actually simple - if you see a speed sign in Canada, halve the number and subtract thirty.  According to the MacKenzie Brothers, that should give you the proper speed in MPH.

Okay:

Sign in Canada reads MAXIMUM 80; obviously in km/h.

Half of 80 is 40 and 40 minus 30 = 10. 

Something's lost/missing in translation.  80 km/h does not equal 10 mph; it's equivalent to 50 mph

You don't know who the McKenzie Brothers are, apparently.

[PHLBOS]

You don't know who theMcKenzie Brothers are, apparently.

That's right, I never watched nor followed SCTV; I was more intersted in SNL back then.