For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates, or requires, a different meaning.
ALLEY. A thoroughfare through the middle of a block.
AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE. Vehicles of the Fire Department, police vehicles, and such ambulances and emergency vehicles of municipal departments, or public service corporations, as are designated, or authorized, by the Chief of Police.
BICYCLE. Every device propelled by human power upon which any person may ride, having two tandem wheels, either of which is over 20 inches in diameter.
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE. Every vehicle designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of property.
CROSSWALK. The part of a roadway at an intersection included within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs, or in the absence of curbs from the edges of the traversable roadway. A CROSSWALK includes any portion of a roadway at an intersection, or elsewhere, distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines, or other markings, on the surface.
DRIVER. Every person who drives, or is in actual physical control of, a vehicle. This term shall have the same meaning as OPERATOR, as used in G.S. § 20-4.01(25).
HIGHWAY, CONTROLLED ACCESS. Every highway, street, or roadway in respect to which owners, or occupants, of abutting property, or lands, and other persons have no legal right of access to, or from, the same, except at such points only, and in such manner, as may be determined by the public authority having jurisdiction over such highway, street, or roadway.
HIGHWAY, THROUGH. Every street or highway, or portion thereof, at the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting streets, or highways, is required by law to stop before entering, or crossing, the same, and when stop signs are erected, as provided in this article.
INTERSECTION. The area embraced within the prolongation of the lateral curblines, or, if none, then the lateral edge of the roadway lines of the two highways which join one another at any angle whether or not one such roadway crosses the other. Where a highway includes two roadways 30 feet, or more, apart, then every crossing of each roadway of such divided highway by an intersecting highway shall be regarded as a separate INTERSECTION. If such intersecting highway also includes two roadways 30 feet, or more, apart, then every crossing of two roadways of such highways shall be regarded as a separate INTERSECTION.
MOTORCYCLE. Every motor vehicle having a saddle for the use of the rider, and designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground, including motor scooters and motor-driven bicycles, but excluding tractors, utility vehicles equipped with an additional form of device designed to transport property, three-wheeled vehicles while being used by law enforcement agencies, and mopeds, as defined in G.S. §§ 20-4.01(h) and 105-164.3.
MOTOR VEHICLE. Every vehicle which is self-propelled, and every vehicle designed to run upon the highways, which is pulled by a self-propelled vehicle. This shall not include mopeds, as defined in G.S. § 20-4.01. This definition shall not apply to Article XII, “Abandoned, Nuisance, and Junked Motor Vehicles”, of this chapter.
OFFICIAL TRAFFIC-CONTROL DEVICES. All signs, signals, markings, and devices not inconsistent with this chapter placed, or erected, by authority of a public body, or official having jurisdiction, for the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding traffic.
PARK WHEN PROHIBITED. The standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily for the purpose of, and while actually engaged in, loading or unloading.
PEDESTRIAN. Any person afoot.
POLICE OFFICER. Every officer of the municipal police department, or any officer authorized to direct or regulate traffic, or to make arrests for violations of traffic regulations.
PRIVATE ROAD or DRIVEWAY. Every road, or driveway, not open to the use of the public as a matter of right for the purpose of vehicular traffic.
RAILROAD. A carrier of persons, or property, upon cars, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails.
RAILROAD TRAIN. A steam engine, electric, or other motor, with or without cars coupled thereto, operated upon rails, except streetcars.
RIGHT-OF-WAY. The privilege of the immediate use of the roadway.
ROADWAY. The portion of a street or highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. If a highway includes two, or more, separate roadways, the term ROADWAY, as used herein, shall refer to any such roadway separately, but not to all such ROADWAYS collectively.
ROADWAY, LANED. A roadway which is divided into two, or more, clearly marked lanes for vehicular traffic.
SIDEWALK. The portion of a street between the curblines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines intended for the use of pedestrians.
STOP. Complete cessation of movement.
STOP, STOPPING, or STANDING, WHEN PROHIBITED. Any stopping or standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic, or in compliance with the directions of a police officer or traffic-control sign or signal.
STREET or HIGHWAY. The entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained roadway when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel.
STREETCAR. A car, other than a railroad train, for transporting persons or property, and operated upon rails principally within a municipality.
TRAFFIC. Pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, and other conveyances either singly, or together, while using any street for purposes of travel.
TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNAL. Any device, whether manually, electrically, or mechanically operated, by which traffic is alternately directed to stop and to proceed.
TRAFFIC DIVISION. The Traffic Division of the Police Department of this town, or in the event a TRAFFIC DIVISION is not established, then the term whenever used in this chapter shall be deemed to refer to the Police Department of this town.
VEHICLE. Every device in, upon, or by which any person, or property, is, or may be, transported, or drawn, upon a highway, except devices moved by human power, or used exclusively upon fixed rails or tracks; provided, that for the purposes of this chapter, bicycles shall be deemed VEHICLES, and every rider of a bicycle upon a highway shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter applicable to the driver of a VEHICLE, except those which by their nature can have no application. This term shall not include a device which is designed for, and intended to be used as, a means of transportation for a person with a mobility impairment, or who uses the device for mobility enhancement, is suitable for use both inside and outside a building, including on sidewalks, and is limited by design to 15 mph when the device is being operated by a person with a mobility impairment, or who uses the device for mobility enhancement. This term shall not include an ELECTRIC PERSONAL ASSISTIVE MOBILITY DEVICE, as defined in G.S. § 20-4.01(7a).
ZONE, CURB LOADING. A space adjacent to a curb reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading, or unloading, of passengers or materials.
ZONE, FREIGHT CURB LOADING. A space adjacent to a curb for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading, or unloading, of freight or passengers.
ZONE, PASSENGER CURB LOADING. A place adjacent to a curb reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles during the loading, or unloading, of passengers.
ZONE, SAFETY. The traffic island, or other space, officially set apart within a roadway for the exclusive use of pedestrians, and which is protected, or is so marked or indicated, by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at all times while set apart as a safety zone.
(Code 1976, §§ 7.1-7.6, 7.8-7.14)
Cross-reference:
Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1-102.
Statutory reference:
Definitions, G.S. § 20-4.01.