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Article 1. Definitions
For the purpose of this Convention the following expressions shall have the meanings
hereby assigned to them:
(a) The “domestic legislation” of a Contracting
Party means the entire body of national or local laws and regulations in force in
the territory of that Contracting Party;
(b) A vehicle is said to be “in international
traffic” in the territory of a State if:
(i)
It is owned by a natural or legal person normally resident outside that State;
(ii)
It is not registered in that State; and
(iii)
It is temporarily imported into that State;
provided, however, that a Contracting Party may refuse to regard as being “in international
traffic” a vehicle which has remained in its territory for more than one year without
a substantial interruption, the duration of which may be fixed by that Contracting
Party.
A combination of vehicles is said to be “in international traffic” if at least one
of the vehicles in the combination conforms to the above definition;
(c) “Built-up area” means an area with entries
and exits specially signposted as such, or otherwise defined in domestic legislation;
(d) “Road” means the entire surface of any way
or street open to public traffic;
(e) “Carriageway” means the part of a road normally
used by vehicular traffic; a road may comprise several carriageways clearly separated
from one another by, for example, a dividing strip or a difference of level;
(f) On carriageways where one or more side lanes
or tracks are reserved for use by certain vehicles, “edge of the carriageway” means,
for other road-users, the edge of the remainder of the carriageway;
(g) “Lane” means any one of the longitudinal
strips into which the carriageway is divisible, whether or not defined by longitudinal
road markings, which is wide enough for one moving line of motor vehicles other
than motorcycles;
(g) bis “Cycle lane”
means a part of a carriageway designated for cycles. A cycle lane is distinguished
from the rest of the carriageway by longitudinal road markings;
(g) ter “Cycle track”
means an independent road or part of a road designated for cycles, signposted as
such. A cycle track is separated from other roads or other parts of the same road
by structural means;
(h) “Intersection” means any level crossroad,
junction or fork, including the open areas formed by such crossroads, junctions
or forks;
(i) “Level-crossing” means any level intersection
between a road and a railway or tramway track with its own track formation;
(j) “Motorway” means a road specially designed
and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and
which:
(i)
Is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways
for the two directions of traffic, separated from each
other either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic or, exceptionally, by
other means;
(ii)
Does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; and
(iii)
Is specially signposted as a motorway;
(k) A vehicle is said to be:
(i)
“Standing” if it is stationary for the time needed to pick up or set down
persons or to load or unload goods; and
(ii)
“Parked” if it is stationary for any reason other than the need to avoid
interference with another road-user or collision with an
obstruction or to comply with traffic regulations, and if the period during which
the vehicle is stationary is not limited to the time needed
to pick up or set down persons or goods;
Nevertheless, it shall be open to Contracting Parties to regard as “standing” any
vehicle which is stationary within the meaning of subparagraph (ii) above for a
period not exceeding that fixed by domestic legislation, and to regard as “parked”
any vehicle which is stationary within the meaning of subparagraph (i) above for
a period exceeding that fixed by domestic legislation;
(l) “Cycle” means any vehicle which has at least two wheels and is propelled solely
by the muscular energy of the persons on that vehicle, in particular by means of
pedals or handcranks
(m) “Moped” means any two-wheeled or three-wheeled
vehicle which is fitted with an internal combustion engine having a cylinder capacity
not exceeding 50 cc and a maximum design speed not exceeding 50 km (30 miles) per
hour. Contracting Parties are free, however, not to regard as mopeds, under their
domestic legislation, vehicles which do not have the characteristics of a cycle
with respect to their use, in particular the characteristic that they can be propelled
by pedals, or whose maximum design speed, whose mass, or certain of whose engine
characteristics exceed certain limits. Nothing in this definition shall be construed
as preventing Contracting Parties from treating mopeds exactly as cycles in applying
the provisions of their domestic legislation regarding road traffic;
(n) “Motorcycle” means any two-wheeled vehicle,
with or without a side-car, which is equipped with a propelling engine. Contracting
Parties may also treat as motorcycles in their domestic legislation three-wheeled
vehicles whose unladen mass does not exceed 400 kg. The term “motorcycle” does not
include mopeds, although Contracting Parties may, provided they make a declaration
to this effect in conformity with Article 54, paragraph 2, of this Convention, treat
mopeds as motorcycles for the purposes of the Convention;
(o) “Power-driven vehicle” means any self-propelled
road vehicle, other than a moped in the territories of Contracting Parties which
do not treat mopeds as motorcycles, and other than a rail-borne vehicle;
(p) “Motor vehicle” means any power-driven vehicle
which is normally used for carrying persons or goods by road or for drawing, on
the road, vehicles used for the carriage of persons or goods. This term embraces
trolley-buses, that is to say, vehicles connected to an electric conductor and not
rail-borne. It does not cover vehicles, such as agricultural tractors, which are
only incidentally used for carrying persons or goods by road or for drawing, on
the road, vehicles used for the carriage of persons or goods;
(q) “Trailer” means any vehicle designed to
be drawn by a power-driven vehicle and includes semi-trailers;
(r) “Semi-trailer” means any trailer designed
to be coupled to a motor vehicle in such a way that part of it rests on the motor
vehicle and that a substantial part of its mass and of the mass of its load is borne
by the motor vehicle;
(s) “Light trailer” means any trailer of a permissible
maximum mass not exceeding 750 kg;
(t) “Combination of vehicles” means coupled
vehicles which travel on the road as a unit;
(u) “Articulated vehicle” means a combination
of vehicles comprising a motor vehicle and semi-trailer coupled to the motor vehicle;
(v) “Driver” means any person who drives a motor
vehicle or other vehicle (including a cycle), or who guides cattle, singly or in
herds, or flocks, or draught, pack or saddle animals on a road;
(w) “Permissible maximum mass” means the maximum
mass of the laden vehicle declared permissible by the competent authority of the
State in which the vehicle is registered;
(x) “Unladen mass” means the mass of the vehicle
without crew, passengers or load, but with a full supply of fuel and with the tools
which the vehicle normally carries;
(y) “Laden mass” means the actual mass of the
vehicle as loaded, with the crew and passengers on board;
(z) “Direction of traffic” and “appropriate
to the direction of traffic” mean the right-hand side if, under domestic legislation,
the driver of a vehicle must allow an oncoming vehicle to pass on his left; otherwise
these expressions mean the left-hand side;
(aa) The requirement that a driver shall “give
way” to other vehicles means that he must not continue or resume his advance or
manoeuvre if by so doing he might compel the drivers of other vehicles to change
the direction or speed of their vehicle abruptly.
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