Traffic codes are laws that generally include provisions relating to the establishment of authority and enforcement procedures, statement of the
rules of the road, and other safety provisions. Administrative regulations for
driver licensing
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
, vehicle ownership and
registration,
insurance, vehicle safety
inspections and
parking violation
A parking violation is the act of parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or in an unauthorized manner. It is against the law virtually everywhere to park a vehicle in the middle of a highway or road; parking on one or both sides of a road ...
s may also be included, though not always directly related to driving safety. Violations of traffic code (i.e., a "
moving violation") are often dealt with by forfeiting a
fine in response to receiving a valid citation ("getting a
ticket
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...
"). Other violations, such as
drunk driving or vehicular
homicide are handled through the
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
courts, although there may also be
civil and administrative cases that arise from the same violation (including payment of
damages
At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...
and loss of driving privileges). In some jurisdictions, there is a separate
code-enforcement branch of government that handles illegal parking and other non-moving violations (e.g., noise and other emissions, illegal equipment). Elsewhere, there may be multiple overlapping
police agencies patrolling for violations of state or federal driving regulations.
United States
For the
traffic code in the United States, each state has its own traffic code, although most of the rules of the road are similar for the purpose of uniformity, given that all states grant reciprocal driving privileges (and
penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
) to each other's licensed drivers. There is also a "
Uniform Vehicle Code
For driving in the United States, each state and territory has its own traffic code or rules of the road, although most of the rules of the road are similar for the purpose of uniformity, given that all states grant reciprocal driving privileges ...
" which has been proposed by a private, non-profit group, based upon input by its members. As with many such offerings, some states adopt selected portions as written, or else with modifications, and others create their own versions. Similarly, most states have adopted relevant standards for signs and signals, based upon the
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Many of the standard rules of the road involve consistent interpretation of the standard signs and signals, such as what to do when approaching a stop sign, or the driving requirements imposed by a
double yellow line on the street or highway. Many federal departments have also adopted their own traffic code for enforcement on their respective reservations (e.g., national parks, military bases).
Outside US
Most countries define national legislation relative to car driving and penalties. Most of those regulations have some common basis to help people driving from one country to one other:
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals have helped this harmonization effort.
Road, driving and traffic regulations are the subject to specific
codification of the law in countries such as:
* Austria: '
* Brasil: ', basis is Vienna convention
* Canada and Québec: L.R.Q., chapitre C-24.2
* Canada and Manitoba: The ' contains legislation called "
Highway Traffic Act", translated as ' in French (chaptre H 060).
* United States of America: Traffic code (each local to a state from United states of America)
* France: '
* Germany: '' ''
* Italy: '
* Lithuania: '
* Luxembourg: In Luxembourg, the equivalent legislation is called ''Code de la route'' and is considered ''codes-loi'' ("law-code") or ''recueil de Législation Routière''.
* Poland: '
* Portugal: '
* Russia: '
* Switzerland: '
* Ukraine: '
In Morocco, the law ''loi n°52-05 portant code de la route'' deals with a new traffic code, approved on 14 January 2009 and adopted on 11 February 2010 (26 safar 1431).
In Belgium this regulation is not a code although it is road traffic specific. It is defined by ''Koninklijk besluit houdende algemeen reglement op de politie van het wegverkeer en van het gebruik van de openbare weg.
B. 09.12.1975'.
In Switzerland, this legislation is not considered as code it is legislation number 741.01.
In United Kingdom there is no codification. Some laws, such as a
Road Traffic Act 1988
The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation.
Contents
Part I contains a number of traffic offences including causing death by dangerous driv ...
and a
Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions
The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (commonly abbreviated to TSRGD) is the law that sets out the design and conditions of use of official traffic signs that can be lawfully placed on or near roads in Great Britain ( England, ...
, do exist; a manual titled ''
Highway Code'' is edited by a public entity with guidelines based on and/or compatible with local law.
In European Union federal level, legislation is more oriented on transport competition and not on sharing the road. There is some effort oriented to issues such as driving license and car control.
See also:
*
Australian Road Rules about legislation and rules and their history in Australia
See also small-mini-drafts:
*
New Zealand Road Code
The New Zealand Road Code is the official road safety manual for New Zealand published by NZ Transport Agency. It is a guide to safe driving practices and traffic law in New Zealand, and is also the basis for theory and practical driving tests.
Th ...
about the official and public learning book of New Zealand
*
Road rules in Hong Kong where there is no single act governing rules of the road like other jurisdictions.
*
Rules of the Road (Ireland)
The Rules of the Road is the official road user guide for Ireland.
See also
* The Highway Code
* Driver's education
External linksRules of the Roadis the official online home of the Irish Rules of the Road
Ireland
{{Ireland-transport-s ...
*
Highway Traffic Act (Ontario)
The ''Highway Traffic Act'' (HTA) (the Act) is legislation in Ontario, Canada, which regulates the licensing of vehicles, classification of traffic offences, administration of loads, classification of vehicles and other transport-related issue ...
(Canada)
See also
*
Traffic
*
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...
*
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
*
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
*''
Highway Code'', the equivalent document in the
UK
*
Uniform Vehicle Code
For driving in the United States, each state and territory has its own traffic code or rules of the road, although most of the rules of the road are similar for the purpose of uniformity, given that all states grant reciprocal driving privileges ...
, as implemented by individual
jurisdictions in the
US
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traffic Code
Traffic law
Rules of the road
United States transportation law