New Zealand

In New Zealand, the definition of a road is broad in common law[8] where the statutory definition
includes areas the public has access to, by right or not.[9] Beaches, publicly accessible car parks and
yards (even if privately owned), river beds, road shoulders (verges), wharves and bridges are
included.[10] However, the definition of a road for insurance purposes may be restricted to reduce
risk.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom The Highway Code details rules for "road users", but there is some ambiguity
between the terms highway and road.[11] For the purposes of the English law, Highways Act 1980,
which covers England and Wales but not Scotland or Northern Ireland, road is "any length of
highway or of any other road to which the public has access, and includes bridges over which a road
passes".[12] This includes footpaths, bridleways and cycle tracks, and also road and driveways on
private land and many car parks.[13] Vehicle Excise Duty, a road use tax, is payable on some vehicles
used on the public road.[13]

The definition of a road depends on the definition of a highway; there is no formal definition for a
highway in the relevant Act. A 1984 ruling said "the land over which a public right of way exists is
known as a highway; and although most highways have been made up into roads, and most
easements of way exist over footpaths, the presence or absence of a made road has nothing to do
with the distinction.[14][15] Another legal view is that while a highway historically included
footpaths, bridleways, driftways, etc., it can now be used to mean those ways that allow the
movement of motor vehicles, and the term rights of way can be used to cover the wider usage.[16]

United States

In the United States, laws distinguish between public roads, which are open to public use,[17] and
private roads, which are privately controlled.[18]

History

Main article: History of road transport

Further information: Gravel road and Trail

Transfăgărășan called "the best road in the world" by Top Gear[19]

The Porta Rosa, a Greek street dating from the 3rd to 4th century BC in Velia, with a paved surface
and gutters

A paved Roman road in Pompeii

Old tractor road over farmland, Ystad, Sweden

Ancient Sassanid Era Pathway in Behbahan, Persia

Ancient Sassanid Era Pathway in Behbahan, Persia

Ancient Cobblestoned Road in Behbahan

Ancient Cobblestoned Road in Behbahan

The assertion that the first pathways were the trails made by animals has not been universally
accepted; in many cases animals do not follow constant paths.[1] Some believe that some roads
originated from following animal trails.[20][21] The Icknield Way may exemplify this type of road
origination, where human and animal both selected the same natural line.[22] By about 10,000 BC
human travelers used rough roads/pathways.[1]

The world's oldest known paved road was constructed in Egypt some time between 2600 and 2200
BC.[23]

Stone-paved streets appear in the city of Ur in the Middle East dating back to 4000 BC.[1]

Corduroy roads (log roads) are found dating to 4000 BC in Glastonbury, England.[1]

The Sweet Track, a timber track causeway in England, is one of the oldest engineered roads
discovered and the oldest timber trackway discovered in Northern Europe. Built in winter 3807 BC or
spring 3806 BC, (tree-ring dating – dendrochronology – enabled very precise dating). It was claimed
to be the oldest road in the world[24][25] until the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in
Plumstead, London.[26][27]

Brick-paved streets appeared in India as early as 3000 BC.[1]

c. 1995 BC: an early subdividing of roadways evidenced with sidewalks built in Anatolia.[28]

In 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for the Achaemenid Empire (Persia),
including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time,[29] connecting Sardis
(the westernmost major city of the empire) to Susa. The road remained in use after Roman times.
These road systems reached as far east as Bactria and India.[30]

In ancient times, transport by river was far easier and faster than transport by road,[25] especially
considering the cost of road construction and the difference in carrying capacity between carts and
river barges. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-
drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank.[31][32]

From about 312 BC, the Roman Empire built straight[33] strong stone Roman roads throughout
Europe and North Africa, in support of its military campaigns. At its peak the Roman Empire was
connected by 29 major roads moving out from Rome and covering 78,000 kilometers or 52,964
Roman miles of paved roads.[25]

In the 8th century AD, many roads were built throughout the Arab Empire. The most sophisticated
roads were those in Baghdad, which were paved with tar. Tar was derived from petroleum, accessed
from oil fields in the region, through the chemical process of destructive distillation.[34]

The Highways Act 1555 in Britain transferred responsibility for maintaining roads from government
to local parishes.[25] This resulted in a poor and variable state of roads. To remedy this, the first of
the turnpike trusts was established around 1706, to build good roads and collect tolls from passing
vehicles. Eventually there were approximately 1,100 trusts in Britain and some 36,800 km (22,870
miles) of engineered roads.[25] The Rebecca Riots in Carmarthenshire and Rhayader from 1839 to
1844 contributed to a Royal Commission that led to the demise of the system in 1844,[35] which
coincided with the development of the UK railway system.

In the late-19th century roading engineers began to cater for cyclists by building separate lanes
alongside roadways.

From the beginning of the 20th century, roads were increasingly built for tourism and also to create
jobs. A typical example of the stimulation of tourism is the Great Dolomite Road, while the creation
of the panoramic coastal road Strada Costiera between Duino and Barcola in 1928 was very much
focused on creating jobs.[36][37]