A highway is a road that has two or more lanes in each direction of travel.
Highway is a term that is formed with the compositional element auto- (referring to the automobile ) and the noun track (which can refer, among other things, to a road or a space intended for the advancement of vehicles).
A highway, in this framework, is a type of road . A road or route is called a public path intended for vehicular traffic , which is paved and is characterized by its width to promote safe circulation.
What is a highway
Returning to the idea of a highway, it refers to a road with two-way traffic, whose roads have at least two lanes that are separated . Another peculiarity of highways is that they lack level crossings , which provides fluidity to traffic .
The purpose of a highway is to allow a high volume of traffic at high speed , guaranteeing certain safety conditions. By having several lanes for both directions, traffic jams, in theory, should be infrequent.
On a highway, both directions of traffic are separated.
Main features
Highways share characteristics with other roads, but at the same time their appearance is distinctive. First of all, it must be noted that its design is aimed exclusively at motor traffic.
It has entrances and exits in specific places; That is, you cannot enter a highway anywhere. Those who live in adjoining properties, for example , may not have the opportunity to enter the road in the area surrounding the home. So that these people can move, there are collectors or service roads , which are streets developed parallel to the highway.
The fact of presenting a double carriageway or more lanes; the physical separation between both directions of circulation; and the absence of level crossings (it is not crossed by pedestrian crossings, railway tracks or other roads ), as we already mentioned, also define a highway.
Traffic on the highways
In countries where people drive on the right, the entrances and exits are located on the right side of the direction of travel. This is linked to the fact that the left lane is the fastest and the one that should be used to pass other vehicles.
With this organization, cars entering or leaving the highway do so at a lower speed than that maintained by other vehicles that were already on it. The idea is that, outside the highway (that is, on the city 's conventional streets and avenues), people travel at a reduced speed for road safety reasons.
Differences with a highway
It is common for confusion to occur between a highway and a highway . According to the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), a highway is also a road that has two directions of traffic , both with separate carriageways.
The difference is that the security measures on highways in terms of access and exit are greater. In any case, it must be considered that what is meant by a highway varies depending on the region .
In Argentina , to mention one case, a highway is a road with separated lanes , but which may have crossings at the same level. When all the crossings occur at different levels, it is a highway.