2023 Maryland Statutes › Transportation › Title 21 - Vehicle Laws -- Rules of the Road › Subtitle 1 - Definitions; General Provisions › Section 21-101 - Definitions

(a)    In this title and Title 25 of this article the following words have the meanings indicated.
(b)    “Alley” means a street that:
(1)    Is intended to provide access to the rear or side of a lot or building in an urban district; and
(2)    Is not intended for through vehicular traffic.
(c)    “Bicycle path” means any travelway designed and designated by signing or signing and marking for bicycle use, located within its own right–of–way or in a shared right–of–way, and physically separated from motor vehicle traffic by berm, shoulder, curb, or other similar device.
(d)    (1)    “Bicycle way” means:
(i)    Any trail, path, part of a highway, surfaced or smooth shoulder, or sidewalk; or
(ii)    Any other travelway specifically signed, marked, or otherwise designated for bicycle travel.
(2)    “Bicycle way” includes:
(i)    Bicycle path; and
(ii)    Bike lane.
(e)    “Bike lane” means any portion of a roadway or shoulder designated for single directional bicycle flow.
(f)    “Business district” means an area that adjoins and includes a highway where at least 50 percent of the frontage along the highway, for a distance of at least 300 feet, is occupied by buildings used for business.
(g)    “Controlled access highway” means a highway or roadway to or from which persons, including the owners or occupants of abutting lands, have no right of access except at the points and in the manner determined by the public authority with jurisdiction over the highway or roadway.
(h)    “Crossover” means a transverse roadway or opening that connects the separate roadways of a divided highway at a point other than an intersection of the divided highway with another highway.
(i)    “Crosswalk” means that part of a roadway that is:
(1)    Within the prolongation or connection of the lateral lines of sidewalks at any place where 2 or more roadways of any type meet or join, measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway;
(2)    Within the prolongation or connection of the lateral lines of a bicycle way where a bicycle way and a roadway of any type meet or join, measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the roadway; or
(3)    Distinctly indicated for pedestrian crossing by lines or other markings.
(i–1)    “Dedicated bus lane” means a lane designated for use by mass transit vehicles owned, operated, or contracted for by the Maryland Transit Administration or a local department of transportation.
(j)    “Electric personal assistive mobility device” or “EPAMD” means a pedestrian device that:
(1)    Has two nontandem wheels;
(2)    Is self–balancing;
(3)    Is powered by an electric propulsion system;
(4)    Has a maximum speed capability of 15 miles per hour; and
(5)    Is designed to transport one person.
(k)    “Expressway” means a major highway of 2 or more traffic lanes in each direction that is designed to eliminate principal traffic hazards and has the following characteristics:
(1)    A median divider separating opposing traffic lanes to eliminate head–on collisions and sideswiping;
(2)    Grade separation structures to eliminate the conflict of cross streams of traffic at each intersection;
(3)    Points of entrance and exit limited to predetermined locations;
(4)    Vertical curves long enough to provide long sight distances; and
(5)    Shoulders wide enough to permit vehicles to stop or park out of traffic lanes.
(l)    (1)    “Intersection” means:
(i)    The area within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines or, in the absence of curbs, the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two highways that join at or approximately at right angles; or
(ii)    The area within which vehicles traveling on different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict.
(2)    If a divided highway includes two roadways that are 30 feet or more apart, every crossing of each roadway of the divided highway by an intersecting highway is a separate intersection. If the intersecting highway also includes two roadways that are 30 feet or more apart, every crossing of two roadways of these highways is a separate intersection.
(m)    “Play vehicle” means a vehicle that:
(1)    Has two or more wheels;
(2)    Is propelled only by human power;
(3)    Is not a bicycle, as defined in Title 11 of this article; and
(4)    Is not a wheelchair.
(n)    “Private road or driveway” means any way or place that:
(1)    Is privately owned; and
(2)    Is used for vehicular travel by its owner and by those having express or implied permission from the owner, but not by other persons.
(o)    “Public bicycle area” means any highway, bicycle path, or other facility or area maintained by this State, a political subdivision of this State, or any of their agencies for the use of bicycles.
(p)    “Railroad” means a carrier of people or property on cars that are operated on stationary rails.
(q)    “Railroad sign” or “railroad signal” means any sign, signal, or device placed by authority of a public body or official or by a railroad to warn of the presence of railroad tracks or the approach of a railroad train.
(r)    “Railroad train” means any locomotive or any other car, rolling stock, equipment, or other device that, alone or coupled to others, is operated on stationary rails.
(s)    “Residential district” means an area that:
(1)    Is not a business district; and
(2)    Adjoins and includes a highway where the property along the highway, for a distance of at least 300 feet, is improved mainly with residences or residences and buildings used for business.
(t)    “Right–of–way” means the right of one vehicle or pedestrian to proceed in a lawful manner on a highway in preference to another vehicle or pedestrian.
(u)    “Safety zone” means an area in a roadway that:
(1)    Is officially set apart for the exclusive use of pedestrians; and
(2)    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.
(v)    “Shoulder” means that portion of a highway contiguous with the roadway for the accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use, for use by bicycles and motor scooters, and for the lateral support of the base and surface courses of the roadway.
(w)    “Sidewalk” means that part of a highway:
(1)    That is intended for use by pedestrians; and
(2)    That is between:
(i)    The lateral curb lines or, in the absence of curbs, the lateral boundary lines of a roadway; and
(ii)    The adjacent property lines.
(x)    “Through highway” means a highway or part of a highway:
(1)    On which vehicular traffic is given the right–of–way; and
(2)    At the entrances to which vehicular traffic from intersecting highways is required by law to yield the right–of–way to vehicles on that highway or part of a highway, in obedience to either a stop sign or yield sign placed as provided in the Maryland Vehicle Law.
(y)    “Urban district” means an area that:
(1)    Adjoins and includes any street; and
(2)    Is built up with structures that are:
(i)    Devoted to business, industry, or dwelling houses; and
(ii)    Situated at intervals of less than 100 feet, for a distance of at least a quarter of a mile.
(z)    “Wheelchair” means a mobility aid belonging to any class of three– or four–wheeled devices that:
(1)    Is usable indoors;
(2)    Does not exceed 30 inches in width and 48 inches in length, when measured 2 inches above the ground; and
(3)    Is designed for and used by a mobility impaired individual, whether operated manually or powered.