legal defition of road

hi just wondering if anyone could help me im looking for the legal definition of what a road is. iv''e tried the road traffic act but cant find anything. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

marty

Why do you need it? What context is the word being used in that requires a legal definition?

Most Acts have a catch all section which states that words have their common meaning unless otherwise specifically defined.

without wanting to get too specific it's for an oral hearing relating to a project in cork.

a road is a road, i'm struggling to figure out when a road is not a road? is it a path? is it a field? is it a tomato?

It's pretty "clearly" defined in the Roads Act 1993:

‘road’ includes

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(a) any street, lane, footpath, square, court, alley or passage,
(b) any bridge, viaduct, underpass, subway, tunnel, overpass, overbridge, flyover, carriageway (whether single or multiple), pavement or footway,
(c) any weighbridge or other facility for the weighing or inspection of vehicles, toll plaza or other facility for the collection of tolls, service area, emergency telephone, first-aid post, culvert, arch, gulley, railing, fence, wall, barrier, guardrail, margin, kerb, lay-by, hard shoulder, island, pedestrian refuge, median, central reserve, channelliser, roundabout, gantry, pole, ramp, bollard, pipe, wire, cable, sign, signal or lighting forming part of the road, and
(d) any other structure or thing forming part of the road and
(i) necessary for the safety, convenience or amenity of road users or for the construction, maintenance, operation or management of the road or for the protection of the environment, or
(ii) prescribed by the Minister.

‘roadway’ means that portion of a road which is provided primarily for the use of vehicles.

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So in effect, the bit that carries traffic is actually a roadway, everything else (e.g. from a building on one side of the street to a building on the other) is a road.

marty83 said:

hi just wondering if anyone could help me im looking for the legal definition of what a road is. iv''e tried the road traffic act but cant find anything. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

marty

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Legal definitions tend to centre on Rights of Way, Public or Private.
A road is a physical thing and in and of itself does not confer a right to traverse it.
I'm not sure that a legal definition will centre on the word "road" unless its to do with the RTA.
Latrades post seems pretty conprehensive in relation to how the Roads Act 1993 defines "road".

Private rights of way can be limited to one type of right or can be almost unlimited along the lines of:
This Lease "...confers on the leasee, his agents, assignees and invitees the right to pass and repass, to traverse with or without vehicles, from point A to point B, including the right to enter on and carry out works on under and over the land to lay services, pipes, paths, roads as may be rquired, including the passing of potable, surface and foul water and other services, without let or hindrance"...
Or words to that effect - that's off the top of my head BTW, I'm not a legal eagle and its been a while since I read an "unrestricted" lease.

Public rights of way are usually limited to the unrestricted passage of persons or vehicles, as opposed to carrying out works on the land.

As dereko1969 its useful to know in a general no-name way, why you need to have this information.
Saying its for an Oral Hearing [part of a Planng Appeal?] tells us very little

If its a right of way issue and legal you may need to get advice from a barrister well versed in land law and conveyancing.
Bear in mind however that Oral Hearings are conducted in relation to planning law and planning law doesn't supersede the law of the land.
Unless you can show that the applicant has no rights of access or drainage, and/or has materially misrepresented this in the application you won't get far.

Finally an Inspector in an Oral hearing I attended was clearly annoyed at the legalistic manners, language and posturing of on SC who ended up being unmercifully slagged.
"You're not in the High Court now pal..." was the apt comment that drifted up the table sotto voce making the inspector smile broadly.
So laying it on with a trowel by paying a fortune for an SC to appear can backfire - usually the developer does it.

ONQ.