Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the contracting parties. The convention was agreed upon at the United Nations Economic and Social Council's Conference on Road Traffic (7 October – 8 November 1968) and concluded in Vienna on 8 November 1968. This conference also produced the Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The convention had amendments on 3 September 1993 and 28 March 2006. There is a European Agreement supplementing the Convention on Road Traffic (1968), which was concluded in Geneva on 1 May 1971.
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic was concluded at Vienna on 8 November 1968. Since its entry into force on 21 May 1977, in signatory countries ("Contracting Parties") it replaces previous road traffic conventions, notably the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, in accordance with Article 48 of the convention. As of October 2022, the convention has been ratified by 86 countries, but those who have not ratified the convention may still be parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. Ireland, Canada, the United States, Cyprus, Iceland, Malta, China and Malaysia are examples of non-signatory countries. Several other countries, such as Spain and Mexico, have signed the convention but have not ratified it.
One of the main benefits of the convention for motorists is the obligation on signatory countries to recognize the legality of vehicles from other signatory countries. The following requirements must be met when driving outside the country of registration:
The convention also addresses minimum mechanical and safety equipment needed to be on board and defines an identification mark (Annex 4) to identify the origin of the vehicle.
One of the fundamental principles of the convention has been the concept that a driver is always fully in control and responsible for the behavior of a vehicle in traffic. This requirement is challenged by the development of technology for collision avoidance systems and autonomous driving.
Since 2021, an automated driving system definition is proposed — in Article 1 of Convention on Road Traffic — as a vehicle system that uses both hardware and software to exercise dynamic control of a vehicle on a sustained basis where Dynamic control is defined as carrying out all the real-time operational and tactical functions required to move the vehicle. This includes controlling the vehicle's lateral and longitudinal motion, monitoring the road, responding to events in the road traffic, and planning and signalling for manoeuvres.
According to a British explanatory Memorandum on the Proposal of Amendment to Article 1 and new Article 34 bis of the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic, this amendment should enter into force 18 months following the date of its circulation, on 14 July 2022, unless it is rejected before 13 January 2022.
The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic is the newest of three conventions that governs International Driving Permits. The other two are the 1926 Paris International Convention relative to Motor Traffic and the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. When a state is contracting to more than one convention, the newest one terminates and replaces previous ones in relations between those states.
The main regulations about driving licences are in Annex 6 (domestic driving permit) and Annex 7 (International Driving Permit). The currently active version of those is in force in each contracting party since no later than 29 March 2011 (Article 43). According to the 1968 Vienna Convention, an IDP must have an expiration date of no more than three years from its issue date or until the expiration date of national driving permit, whichever is earlier, and it is valid for a period of one year upon the arrival in the foreign country.
Article 41 of the convention describes requirements for driving licences. Key of those are:
Prior to 29 March 2011, annex 6 and annex 7 defined forms of driver's licences that are different from those defined after that date. Driving licences issued before 29 March 2011 that match older edition of the annexes are valid until their expiration dates (article 43).
Before 29 March 2011 the convention demanded contracting parties to recognise as valid for driving in their territories:
The broad objective of these international conventions and agreements, the depositary of which is the Secretary-General of the United Nations, is to facilitate international transport while providing for a high level of safety, security, and environmental protection in transport: