For the purpose of this Convention the following expressions shall have the meanings
hereby assigned to them:
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(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;
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(b) A vehicle is said to be “in international traffic” in the territory of a State if:
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(i) It is owned by a natural or legal person normally resident outside that State;
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(ii) It is not registered in that State; and
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(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;
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(c) “Built-up area” means an area with entries and exits specially sign-posted as such,
or otherwise defined in domestic legislation;
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(d) “Road” means the entire surface of any way or street open to public traffic;
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(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;
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(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;
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(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 motor cycles;
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(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;
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(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;
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(h) “Intersection” means any level crossroad, junction or fork, including the open areas
formed by such crossroads, junctions or forks;
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(i) “Level-crossing” means any level intersection between a road and railway or tramway
track with its own track formation;
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(j) “Motorway” means a road specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does
not serve properties bordering on it, and which
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(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;
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(ii) Does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, or footpath; and
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(iii) Is specially sign-posted as a motorway;
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(k) A vehicle is said to be:
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(i) “Standing” if it is stationary for the time needed to pick up or set down persons
or to load or unload goods; and
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(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 sub-paragraph (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 sub-paragraph (i) above for a period exceeding
that fixed by domestic legislation;
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(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 hand-cranks;
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(m) “Moped” means any two-wheeled or threewheeled vehicle which is fitted with an internal
combustion engine having a cylinder capacity not exceeding 50 cc (3.05 cu. in.) 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;
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(n) “Motor cycle” means any two-wheeled vehicle, with or without a side-car, which is
equipped with a propelling engine. Contracting Parties may also treat as motor cycles
in their domestic legislation threewheeled vehicles whose unladen mass does not exceed
400 kg (900 lb). The term “motor cycle” 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 motor cycles for the purposes
of the Convention;
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(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 motor cycles,
and other than a rail-borne vehicle;
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(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;
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(q) “Trailer” means any vehicle designed to be drawn by a powerdriven vehicle and includes
semi-trailers;
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(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;
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(s) “Light trailer” means any trailer of a permissible maximum mass not exceeding 750
kg (1,650 lb);
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(t) “Combination of vehicles” means coupled vehicles which travel on the road as a unit;
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(u) “Articulated vehicle” means a combination of vehicles comprising a motor vehicle and
semi-trailer coupled to the motor vehicle;
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(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;
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(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;
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(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;
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(y) “Laden mass” means the actual mass of the vehicle as loaded, with the crew and passengers
on board;
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(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;
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(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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(ab) “Automated driving system” refers to a vehicle system that uses both hardware and
software to exercise dynamic control of a vehicle on a sustained basis;
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(ac) “Dynamic control” refers to carrying out all the real-time operational and tactical
functions required to move the vehicle. This includes controlling the vehicle’s lateral
and longitudinal motion, monitoring the road, responding to events in the road traffic,
and planning and signalling for manoeuvres.