Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

What is the difference between the terms "road" and "roadway?"

Hello:

Can you tell me why the weather and traffic people insist on using the word "roadways" when describing conditions on the roads? What is the difference between a road and a roadway, anyway? Seems to me it's like saying "street-streets." Am I missing something here?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Ophelia Buttocks (a little light humor), San Diego

MA of Reader:

I was getting on the freeway the other day, when I noticed the sign that said "Pedestrians, Bicycles, Motor-driven Cycles Prohibited." I was on my motorcycle and thought that sure sounded like they were talking to me. What's the deal?

-- LB of netland

We may believe we know what we're talking about, but the legislature is happy to let us know differently. A good chunk of the state vehicle code is devoted to the legal definitions of everyday things, such as person, vehicle, axle, muffler, city, driver, alcoholic beverage, drug, stop, park, traffic, darkness, light, armored car, former prisoner of war, local authorities, essential parts, chop shop, agricultural water-well boring rig, and B-train assembly. (A B-train assembly is a bunch of people who've arrived too late to catch the A train.) Still think there's no difference between a "road" and a "roadway," a "motorcycle" and a "motor-driven cycle"? Ha!

To simplify things, the state says a motor-driven cycle is basically a motorcycle with an engine displacement of less than 150cc. Too small, too slow for the freeway. "Motor-driven cycle" doesn't include motorized bicycles (mopeds), which have their own definition.

For the "roadways" question, we checked in with Monica Zech, San Diego's senior traffic-watcher. She said she picked up the word from her contact with the CHP and Caltrans. According to the CHP, the legal difference between "road" and "roadway" is something drummed into officers at the academy. A road includes the whole thing, from shoulder to shoulder, including parts that can't be driven on (parking spaces, bike lanes). A "roadway" is only that portion of a road intended for normal vehicular traffic. In court it makes a difference.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?

Hello:

Can you tell me why the weather and traffic people insist on using the word "roadways" when describing conditions on the roads? What is the difference between a road and a roadway, anyway? Seems to me it's like saying "street-streets." Am I missing something here?

Sponsored
Sponsored

-- Ophelia Buttocks (a little light humor), San Diego

MA of Reader:

I was getting on the freeway the other day, when I noticed the sign that said "Pedestrians, Bicycles, Motor-driven Cycles Prohibited." I was on my motorcycle and thought that sure sounded like they were talking to me. What's the deal?

-- LB of netland

We may believe we know what we're talking about, but the legislature is happy to let us know differently. A good chunk of the state vehicle code is devoted to the legal definitions of everyday things, such as person, vehicle, axle, muffler, city, driver, alcoholic beverage, drug, stop, park, traffic, darkness, light, armored car, former prisoner of war, local authorities, essential parts, chop shop, agricultural water-well boring rig, and B-train assembly. (A B-train assembly is a bunch of people who've arrived too late to catch the A train.) Still think there's no difference between a "road" and a "roadway," a "motorcycle" and a "motor-driven cycle"? Ha!

To simplify things, the state says a motor-driven cycle is basically a motorcycle with an engine displacement of less than 150cc. Too small, too slow for the freeway. "Motor-driven cycle" doesn't include motorized bicycles (mopeds), which have their own definition.

For the "roadways" question, we checked in with Monica Zech, San Diego's senior traffic-watcher. She said she picked up the word from her contact with the CHP and Caltrans. According to the CHP, the legal difference between "road" and "roadway" is something drummed into officers at the academy. A road includes the whole thing, from shoulder to shoulder, including parts that can't be driven on (parking spaces, bike lanes). A "roadway" is only that portion of a road intended for normal vehicular traffic. In court it makes a difference.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuna within 3-day range Back in the Counts

Mind the rockfish regulations
Next Article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader