Then you didn't pass your driving exam and get a license. In the US that's required and I suspect most countries require the ability to understand posted signs to get a drivers license.
If you're driving without a license, then that's a different issue.
The video that jere linked to is from North Carolina which happens to be where I live. The drivers test here is offered in English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. They also offer it orally, specifically for people who have trouble reading. There's a sign test, but they just show you the shape and color of a sign without text. For example, you have to identify that a red octagon is a stop sign and a yellow pentagon indicates a school zone. At no point is your ability to read english tested so it's perfectly plausible that someone could obtain an NC drivers license and not understand a yellow flashing sign with text on it.
Touche. I worked at BrightLeaf Sq next to this bridge for a few years. While the wording might be different across languages, all the aforementioned nations use Arabic numerals to my knowledge, so "11.7ft" would mean the same to them, I'd hope.
You might be driving abroad on a valid license, just not a license from the country you're driving in. In which case it's perfectly possible the signs wouldn't be in your native language.