4. (1) In these Regulations:—

"the Act of 1961" means the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (No. 24 of 1961);

"the Act of 1968" means the Road Traffic Act, 1968 (No. 25 of 1968);

"the Act of 1993" means the Roads Act, 1993 (No. 14 of 1993);

"the Act of 1994" means the Road Traffic Act, 1994 (No. 7 of 1994);

"access" means entry or exit by vehicles to or from premises adjacent to or accessible only from a road and includes stopping a vehicle on a roadway solely for the purpose of loading or unloading goods on to or from such vehicle from or to such premises;

"animal" does not include a cat or a dog;

F1["appointed stand" has the meaning assigned to it by section 84 (inserted by section 15 of the Road Traffic Act 2002 (No. 12 of 2002)) of the Act of 1961;]

"authorised person" has the meaning assigned to it by section 103(8) (inserted by the Act of 1968) of the Act of 1961;

"bus lane" and "contra flow bus lane" have the meanings assigned to them in article 32;

F2["bus-only street" means a street or a portion of a street at each entrance to which is provided traffic sign number RUS 011 (no straight ahead) accompanied by an information plate to indicate that vehicles, other than large public service vehicles, pedal cycles, e-mopeds, electric scooters and vehicles entering for access only, are prohibited from entering that street;]

F2["car club vehicle permit" means a car club vehicle permit issued by a road authority for the purposes of Article 44A;]

F3["car share vehicle permit" means a car share scheme permit issued by a road authority for the purposes of Article 44A;

"car share electrically powered vehicle recharging and parking bay" means a space intended for the recharging and parking of an electrically powered vehicle in which is displayed a car share electrically powered vehicle permit;

"car share electrically powered vehicle permit" means a car share electrically powered vehicle permit issued by a road authority for the purposes of Article 44C;]

F2["car share" means a car share scheme or car club, licensed or authorised by a road authority under bye-laws made under section 199 of the Local Government Act 2001, for the purpose of the sharing of mechanically propelled vehicles by members of the scheme or club renting or using the vehicles for short periods, such as by the hour or day;]

F2["car share vehicle parking bay" means a space intended for the parking of a mechanically propelled vehicle in which is displayed a car club vehicle permit or a car share vehicle permit;]

"carriageway" means that part of a roadway on which traffic proceeds in a single direction;

"casual trading" and "casual trading area" have the meanings assigned to them by the Casual Trading Act, 1995 (No. 19 of 1995);

"clearway" has the meaning assigned to it in article 40;

F4["cycle track" means part of a road, including part of a footway or part of a roadway, which is provided primarily for the use of pedal cycles, L1e-A e-mopeds and electric scooters;]

"disabled persons parking bay" means a space intended for the parking of a mechanically propelled vehicle in which is displayed a disabled persons parking permit;

F6["disabled person’s parking permit" means a disabled person’s parking permit granted under article 43;]

"direction of traffic flow" means—

(a) the direction in which a vehicle proceeds forwards along a carriageway so that the median strip is at all times on the right hand side of the vehicle, or

(b) where no median strip is provided, the direction in which a vehicle proceeds along a carriageway so that having entered the carriageway without contravening either article 22 or article 23, it proceeds in the same direction along the carriageway;

F7["electric scooter" has the meaning assigned to it in the Road Traffic (Electric Scooters) Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 199 of 2024);]

F5["electrically powered vehicle" means a mechanically propelled vehicle that is powered—

(a) solely by means of a re-chargeable battery, or

(b) by means of a re-chargeable battery and an internal combustion engine where either power source may be used to propel the vehicle;

"electrically powered vehicle recharging bay" means a space intended for the parking of an electrically powered vehicle while the vehicle’s battery is being re-charged;]

F2["e-moped" means a pedal-assisted mechanically propelled vehicle that is a bicycle or tricycle capable of propulsion solely by the physical exertions of a person or persons seated on it, and equipped with an auxiliary electric motor—

(a) which has a maximum continuous rated power greater than 0.25 kilowatts but less than or equal to 1 kilowatt, and

(b) the output of which cuts off when the physical exertions stop and before, or when, the bicycle or tricycle reaches the speed of 25 kilometres per hour;]

"footway" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act of 1993;

F8["footway build out" means part of the footway is built out to extend into the adjoining roadway;]

"goods vehicle" means a vehicle used exclusively for carrying goods and taxed for commercial purposes;

"grass margin" means that portion of a public road situated on either side of a footway and which is provided for the growing of grass, trees or shrubbery of any kind;

F9["holiday" means Good Friday or a day that is a public holiday;]

"left hand side" and "right hand side" shall be determined by facing in the direction of traffic flow;

"lighting up hours" means the period commencing one half hour after sunset on any day and ending one half hour before sunrise on the next day;

"loading bay" has the meaning assigned to it in article 42;

F9["local authority" means county council, city council or borough or town council;]

F2["median strip" means a boundary between the two carriageways of a road other than a traffic sign to which Regulation 58 of the Regulations of 2025 refers;]

"motorway" has the meaning assigned to it in section 2(1) of the Act of 1993;

F2["parking bay" means the area contained between lines of the type referred to in Regulation 66 of the Regulations of 2025;]

"public road" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (1) of the Act of 1993;

F2["Regulations of 2025" means Road Traffic (Traffic Signs) Regulations 2025 (S.I. No. 433 of 2025);]

"road" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (1) of the Act of 1993;

"road inset" means a part of a roadway specially inset in a footway or road' verge;

"road junction" means the section of a roadway contained within the projection of roadway boundaries at the intersection of roadways;

"road verge" means that part of a public road which is not a footway, a grass margin, a median strip or a roadway;

"roadway" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Act of 1993;

F9["roadworks" has the meaning assigned to it by section 101D of the Act of 1961;]

"traffic" does not include pedestrians;

"traffic sign" has the meaning assigned to it by section 95(1) of the Act of 1961, as amended by section 37 of the Act of 1994;

"traffic warden" has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (3) of the Local Authorities (Traffic Wardens) Act 1975 (No. 14 of 1975);

"taxi" and "wheelchair accessible taxi" have the meanings assigned to them in the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. No. 136 of 1995).

(2) A reference in these Regulations to the loading of goods shall be taken to include the supplying of fuel for the operation of the vehicle.

F10[(3) (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), a reference in these Regulations to a traffic sign prescribed in the Regulations of 2025 and any number referred to in association with a traffic sign shall be the number allocated to such sign in such Regulations.

(b) Descriptions given to traffic signs in the Regulations of 2025 may be referred to in these Regulations for the purpose of identification.]

(4) A reference in these Regulations to an information plate accompanying a traffic sign shall, unless otherwise specified, be to a plate which shall indicate the period during which the restriction or prohibition indicated by such traffic sign applies.

F11[(5) F12[(a)  Subject to paragraph (b), a reference in these Regulations to a vehicle unless otherwise specified, means a mechanically propelled vehicle (other than a mechanically propelled wheelchair), a pedal cycle, an e-moped or an electric scooter.]

(b) In Articles 20 and 21 insofar as they relate to either traffic sign number RRM 017 (stop line) or traffic sign number RRM 018 (yield line), and Articles 6, 7, 8(1) and 31, of these Regulations a reference to a vehicle shall be construed as including a reference to a light rail vehicle.]

(6) For the purpose of these Regulations, a pedestrian shall include a person in charge of a vehicle which is not mechanically propelled.

(7) (a) In these Regulations, any reference to an article or Schedule, which is not otherwise identified, is a reference to an article of, or Schedule to, these Regulations.

(b) In these Regulations, any reference to a sub-article, paragraph, or sub-paragraph, which is not otherwise identified, is a reference to the sub-article, paragraph, or sub-paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.

F13[(8) In Article 8, other than sub-article (1), and Articles 10, 12, 18, 31 and 48, of these Regulations a reference to a driver shall be construed as including a reference to the driver of a light rail vehicle.]