2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes Title 27 - Highways Section 27:5-7 - Definitions.

 2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes

Title 27 - Highways
Section 27:5-7 - Definitions.

27:5-7 Definitions.

3. As used in P.L.1991, c.413 (C.27:5-5 et seq.):

"Advertisement or advertising" means the use of any outdoor display or sign upon real property within public view, which is intended to invite or draw the attention of the public to any goods, merchandise, property, business, services, entertainment, amusement or other commercial or noncommercial messages.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Transportation.

"Department" means the Department of Transportation.

"Highway" means any road, thoroughfare, street, boulevard, lane, court, trailway, right-of-way or easement used for, or laid out and intended for public passage of vehicles or persons.

"Interstate System" means those highways which are a part of the National Highway System and constructed within this State and approved by the Secretary of Transportation of the United States as an official portion of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, pursuant to the provisions of Title 23 of the United States Code.

"Limited access highway" means a highway especially designed for through traffic, over which abutters have no easement or right of light, air or direct access by reason of the fact that their property abuts upon that limited access highway.

"Main-traveled way" means the traveled way of a highway on which through traffic is carried. In the case of a divided highway, the traveled way of each separate roadway carrying traffic in opposite directions is a main traveled way. "Main-traveled way" shall not include frontage roads, turning roadways, or parking areas.

"National Highway System" means the Federal-aid Highway System, as defined in 23 U.S.C. s.103, which includes: the Interstate Highway System and all of its principal arterials, including those not previously designated as part of the National Highway System, and international border crossings on those routes; intermodal connectors, which shall include all highways that provide motor vehicle access between the National Highway System and major intermodal transportation facilities; the Strategic Highway Network, which serves as the network of highways important to United States strategic defense; and Strategic Highway Network connectors to major military installations.

"Primary System" means any highway which is a part of the National Highway System and so designated by the State of New Jersey and approved by the federal authorities pursuant to Title 23 of the United States Code.

"Protected areas" mean all areas inside the boundaries of this State which are adjacent to and within 660 feet of the edge of the right-of-way of highways in the National Highway System as defined in 23 U.S.C. s.103 and those areas inside the boundaries of this State which are visible from the highway but beyond 660 feet of the edge of the right-of-way of the National Highway System and are outside urban areas.

"Public view" means the area visible to persons traveling or operating motor vehicles at the legal speed limit on a highway.

"Sign" means any outdoor display or advertising on real property within public view which is intended to attract, or which does attract, the attention of pedestrians or the operators, attendants, or passengers of motor vehicles using the roads, highways, and other public thoroughfares and places, and shall include any writing, printing, painting, display, emblem, drawing, sign, or other device whether placed on the ground, rocks, trees, tree stumps or other natural structures, or on a building, structure, signboard, billboard, wallboard, roofboard, frame, support, fence, or elsewhere, and any lighting or other accessories used in conjunction therewith.

"Street furniture" means an object placed or installed adjacent to the street for public use, which shall include, but not be limited to, a bench, trash and recycling receptacle, public bicycle-sharing parking structure, telephone booth, or Wi-Fi kiosk.

"Urban area" means a place as designated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census having a population of 5,000 or more within boundaries to be fixed by responsible State and local officials in cooperation with each other, subject to approval by the Secretary of Transportation of the United States. The boundaries shall, at a minimum, encompass the entire place designated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

"Visible" means capable of being seen and comprehended without visual aid by persons traveling on the highway.

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code Definitions, N.J.S.A. 39:1-1

Roadway means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term roadway as used herein shall refer to any such roadway separately, but not to all such roadways, collectively.

Street means the same as highway.

2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes
Title 39 - Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation
Section 39:1-1 - Words and phrases defined.

"Motor vehicle" includes all vehicles propelled otherwise than by muscular power, excepting such vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks, low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric scooters, and motorized bicycles.

"Roadway" means that portion of a highway improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. In the event a highway includes two or more separate roadways, the term "roadway" as used herein shall refer to any such roadway separately, but not to all such roadways, collectively.

"Traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, street cars, and other conveyances either singly, or together, while using any highway for purposes of travel.

"Vehicle" means every device in, upon or by which a person or property is or may be transported upon a highway, excepting devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks or low-speed electric bicycles, low-speed electric scooters, or motorized bicycles.

In New Jersey, "traveling" is a broad term for moving from one place to another, while "driving" specifically refers to operating a motor vehicle on public roads. The key difference is that driving requires a valid license, registration, and insurance under state law, whereas traveling is a fundamental right that does not inherently necessitate these requirements if another mode of transportation is used. New Jersey law mandates that any person who drives a vehicle on a public highway must have a valid license. 

Feature	Traveling	Driving
Definition	The general act of moving from one place to another.	The specific act of operating a motor vehicle on a public road or highway.
Constitutional right	A fundamental constitutional right to move freely between states.	Not a constitutional right; operating a motor vehicle is a privilege granted by the state.
Requirements	None if using non-motorized transport like walking.	Requires a New Jersey driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance.
State regulation	Cannot be prohibited by the state, as long as it's not done in a way that violates other laws.	Heavily regulated by the state to ensure public safety.
Legal precedent	The "traveling defense" is a defunct argument used by some individuals who claim "traveling" is distinct from "driving," but it has no legal standing.	All motor vehicle operation is subject to state laws, such as N.J.S.A. 39:3-4 for registration and N.J.S.A. 39:3-10 for licensing.