General interpretationN.I.
2—(1) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954F1 shall apply to Article 1 and the following provisions of this Order as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(2) In this Order—
“carriage of goods” includes the haulage of goods;
“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;
“constable” does not include a member of the Naval, Military or Royal Air Force Police;
“cycle” means a bicycle, a tricycle, or a cycle having 4 or more wheels, not being in any case a motor vehicle;
“the Department” means the Department of the Environment;
“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;
“enactment” includes any order, regulation, rule, bye-law or other instrument made under a statutory provision;
“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;
“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;
“goods” includes goods or burden of any description;
“goods vehicle” means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use for the carriage of goods, or a trailer so constructed or adapted;
“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;
[F2“the Offenders Order” means the Road Traffic Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1996]
“the Order of 1981” means the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F3;
“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;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;
“public path” and “public right of way” have the same meaning as in the Access to the Countryside (Northern Ireland) Order 1983F4;
“public road” includes any part of a public road and any bridge or tunnel over or through which a public road passes;
“road” includes a public road and any street, carriageway, highway or roadway to which the public has access;
“the Road Traffic Orders” means this Order[F5 the Order of 1981 and the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997];
“statutory provision” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(f) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954F6;
“traffic” includes the passage of animals on a road;
“traffic sign”[F5 has the meaning assigned to it by Article 28 of the Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997]
“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).
(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.