← Back to catalogue
Published

road

vr.tr.road · thing-q34442

Let an agent reason about a road as infrastructure with an owner, a classification, a surface, rules of use and a condition, separate from the traffic on it.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.BLT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identity and class Which road and what kind.

Number and name

Road number and street name.

Road identity

The number, name and segment.

  1. What is this road number or name, and which segment is meant? definition
  2. Has its number or class changed? provenance

Class

Functional class.

Functional classification

The class and its implications.

  1. Which functional class does this road belong to? definition
  2. What rules follow from that class? boundary
Ownership and maintenance Who owns and looks after it.

Owner

The road authority.

Road authority

The owner and responsible authority.

  1. Who owns and manages this road? provenance
  2. How are defects reported? action

Condition

Surface and structure condition.

Condition survey

The latest condition assessment.

  1. What is the current condition of this road? measurement
  2. When was it last surveyed or resurfaced? provenance
Use and rules Who may use it and how.

Rules

Speed limits and restrictions.

Rules in force

Limits and restrictions.

  1. What speed limits and restrictions apply on this segment? definition
  2. Are there vehicle, weight or time restrictions? boundary

Closures

Temporary and planned closures.

Current closures

Closures and diversions.

  1. Is this road closed or restricted now, and until when? boundary
  2. What diversion is signed? action
Safety and traffic Crashes and flows.

Traffic

Volumes and congestion.

Traffic data

Counts and congestion.

  1. What traffic volume does this road carry? measurement
  2. When is it congested? measurement

Safety

Crash record and ratings.

Safety record

Crashes and safety ratings.

  1. What is the crash record on this road? measurement
  2. Which safety improvements are planned? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.BLT
Other names and narrower kinds
piscina, military road, causeway, Elevated highway, rio terà, roundabout, port road, Rollbahn, Einzhen route, Pevnostní silnice, municipal road, lei

What it is Filled

A wide way leading from one place to another for use by vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians or animals, often with a specially prepared surface but also including unprepared roads, and forming part of a public or private network.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent reason about a road as infrastructure with an owner, a classification, a surface, rules of use and a condition, separate from the traffic on it.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Infrastructure, not the traffic or the vehicles
  • Has an owner and a road authority
  • Classified by function: motorway, arterial, collector, local
  • Rules of use are set by traffic law and signs

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Drive or guide traffic onto closed, unsafe or prohibited roads.
  • Place objects or vehicles on a road where they endanger users.
  • Close or obstruct a road without lawful authority.
  • Leave a known hazard on a road unreported.

Only with a human decision

  • Closing a road or diverting traffic.
  • Declaring a damaged road safe to reopen.

May

  • Route vehicles and people over roads using current network data.
  • Report damage, obstructions and hazards to the road authority.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Road crashes kill and injure many people every year, mostly the unprotected.
  • Road access decides who can reach work, school and care.

Who is affected

  • Pedestrians and cyclists
  • Drivers and passengers
  • Residents along the road

Owners Filled

Steward

The road authority for public roads; the landowner for private roads.

Master systems

  • Road network registers of the highway authority

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q113519195 - registry parent class
  • Q123414165 - registry parent class
  • Q27955379 - registry parent class
  • Q28456301 - registry parent class
  • Q83620 - registry parent class

related

  • transport infrastructure - alongside rail, waterways and airports
  • car and other vehicles - vehicles are separate models
  • road network - routing depends on the network
  • traffic law - rules of use

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.road
  • Wikidata: Q34442 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q34442)
  • road number: national scheme such as A1, I-95, E40 identifies a road in the network
  • OpenStreetMap way id: numeric identifies a mapped segment

Direct properties required Filled

  • lane width: 2.5-3.75 m - motorways at the upper end
  • design speed: 20-130 km/h
  • pavement thickness: 0.1-0.6 m - depends on traffic loading

Recognition required Filled

  • Surface, width, lane markings and signs indicate its class
  • Road numbers on signs identify it in the network
  • Roundabouts, causeways and elevated highways are kinds or parts of roads
  • A strip of surfaced ground, usually asphalt, concrete or gravel, with markings, verges and signs; ranges from a track to a multi-lane motorway.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • travel on it, subject to traffic law and access rights
  • classify it, by function and ownership
  • build, maintain and close it
  • route over it, using network data

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Crashes, concentrated at junctions and on high-speed roads
  • Surface damage such as potholes and rutting
  • Flooding, landslides and closures
  • Out-of-date network data leading routing onto closed roads

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
  • National road design standards and highway codes
  • EU directives on road infrastructure safety management

Context of use required Filled

  • Carrying traffic between places, and giving access to property.
  • by function: motorway, trunk, arterial, collector, local, track
  • by ownership: public, private, toll
  • by surface: paved, unpaved
  • by structure: at grade, elevated, bridge, tunnel, causeway

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q34442: road - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Road - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should road segments and named roads be separate entries?
  • How should temporary closures and restrictions be represented?
  • Which classification should be used across countries?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q34442/spec.json