{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-northern-ireland-order-1995/article-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-northern-ireland-order-1995/article-2.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1995/2994",
  "legislation_title": "The Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-northern-ireland-order-1995",
  "path": "article/2",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "General interpretation",
  "text": "(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.\n(2) In this Order—\n“carriage of goods” includes the haulage of goods;\n“carriageway” means a way constituted or comprised in a road being a way over which the public have a right of way for the passage of vehicles;\n“constable” does not include a member of the Naval, Military or Royal Air Force Police;\n“cycle” means a bicycle, a tricycle, or a cycle having 4 or more wheels, not being in any case a motor vehicle;\n“the Department” means the Department of the Environment;\n“driver”, where a separate person acts as a steersman of a motor vehicle, includes that person as well as any other person engaged in the driving of the vehicle;\n“enactment” includes any order, regulation, rule, bye-law or other instrument made under a statutory provision;\n“footpath” means a way over which the public have a right of way on foot only, not being a footway or a part of a road;\n“footway” means a way comprised in a road which also comprises a carriageway, being a way over which the public have a right of way on foot only;\n“goods” includes goods or burden of any description;\n“goods vehicle” means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of goods, or a trailer so constructed or adapted;\n“international road haulage permit” means a licence, permit, authorisation or other document issued in pursuance of a Community instrument relating to the carriage of goods by road between member States or an international agreement to which the United Kingdom is a party and which relates to the international carriage of goods by road;\n“the Offenders Order” means the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996\n“the Order of 1981” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;\n“the Order of 2007” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007;\n“owner”, in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring or hire-purchase agreement, means the person in possession of the vehicle under that agreement;\n“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;\n“public path” and “public right of way” have the same meaning as in the Access to the Countryside (Northern Ireland) Order 1983;\n“public road” includes any part of a public road and any bridge or tunnel over or through which a public road passes;\n“road” includes a public road and any street, carriageway, highway or roadway to which the public has access;\n“the Road Traffic Orders” means this Order the Order of 1981 . . . the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. . . the Order of 2007and the Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008;\n“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954;\n“taxi” has the same meaning as in the Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008;\n“traffic” includes the passage of animals on a road;\n“traffic sign” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 28 of the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997\n“trolley vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle adapted for use without rails under power transmitted to the vehicle from some external source (whether or not there is in addition a source of power on board the vehicle).\n(3) References in this Order to a class of vehicles are to be interpreted as references to a class defined or described by reference to any characteristics of the vehicles or to any other circumstances whatsoever, and accordingly as authorising the use of “category” to indicate a class of vehicles, however defined or described.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "1954 c.33 (NI)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "1996 NI 10"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "1981 NI 1"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Art. 2(2): definition of \"the Order of 2007\" inserted (27.6.2007) by Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/916 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 86(1), Sch. 7 para. 9(a); S.R. 2007/302, art. 2, Sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "1983 NI 18"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "1997 NI 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Word in art. 2(2) in definition of \"the Road Traffic Orders\" omitted (27.6.2007) by virtue of Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/916 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 86(1), Sch. 7 para. 9(b)(i); S.R. 2007/302, art. 2, Sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Word in art. 2(2) in definition of \"the Road Traffic Orders\" omitted (23.11.2009) by virtue of Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 4), ss. 58(1), 59, Sch. 2 para. 6(a)(i); S.R. 2009/352, art. 2, Sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Words in art. 2(2) in definition of \"the Road Traffic Orders\" inserted (27.6.2007) by Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/916 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 86(1), Sch. 7 para. 9(b)(ii); S.R. 2007/302, art. 2, Sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words in art. 2(2) in definition of \"the Road Traffic Orders\" added (23.11.2009) by Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 4), ss. 58(1), 59, Sch. 2 para. 6(a)(ii); S.R. 2009/352, art. 2, Sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "1954 c.33 (NI)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Words in art. 2(2) inserted (31.5.2016) by Taxis Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (c. 4), s. 59, Sch. 2 para. 6(b); S.R. 2015/389, art. 2(3), Sch. Pt. 3"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1995/2994/article/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:42:55.991221+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}