Driving Abbreviations
54 abbreviations · part of Transportation & Travel Abbreviations
Abbreviations drivers meet when licensing, registering and insuring a vehicle, reading road signs and route numbers, driving commercially or taking a car abroad. US motor vehicle agencies go by different names in different states (DMV, BMV, MVD, RMV), and British terms such as DVLA and MOT are included. Alcohol-related driving offenses such as DUI and DWI are covered under police abbreviations.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AADT | Annual average daily traffic | Traffic engineering measure of the average number of vehicles passing a point on a road each day, averaged over a full year. |
| ATV | All-terrain vehicle | Small off-road motor vehicle with a straddle seat, handlebars and usually four low-pressure tires, used for recreation, farming and hunting. |
| BI | Bodily injury liability | Auto and general liability coverage that pays for injuries the policyholder causes to other people, including medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and legal… |
| BMV | Bureau of Motor Vehicles | Name of the state motor vehicle agency in Indiana, Ohio and Maine, handling driver's licenses, titles, registrations and plates. |
| CAFE | Corporate Average Fuel Economy | US federal standards requiring each automaker's fleet of new cars and light trucks to meet an average fuel economy target, set by NHTSA. |
| CDL | Commercial driver's license | US license required to drive large trucks, buses and hazardous-materials vehicles. |
| CLP | Commercial learner's permit | Permit that lets a trainee practice driving a commercial vehicle on public roads while accompanied by a qualified CDL holder. |
| CMV | Commercial motor vehicle | Federal term for a vehicle used in commerce that has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, is designed to carry 9 or more people including the driver… |
| CR | County Road | Designation for roads maintained by county governments in many US states, written on signs and maps as CR followed by a number, such as CR 42. |
| CSA | Compliance, Safety, Accountability | FMCSA program, launched in 2010, that scores trucking and bus companies on safety data from inspections, violations and crashes, sorted into categories such as unsafe… |
| DDS | Department of Driver Services | Georgia state agency that issues driver's licenses, permits and ID cards and administers driving tests. |
| DL | Driver's license | Official document allowing a person to drive motor vehicles on public roads, issued in the US by the state of residence. |
| DMV | Department of Motor Vehicles | State agency that issues driver's licenses, ID cards, vehicle titles, registrations and license plates in many US states, including California, New York and Virginia. |
| DOL | Department of Licensing | Washington State agency that issues driver's licenses, ID cards, vehicle registrations and many professional licenses. |
| DPS | Department of Public Safety | State agency that issues driver's licenses in Texas and handles driver licensing in several other states, alongside highway patrol duties. |
| DVLA | Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency | UK agency that issues driving licences, registers vehicles, collects vehicle excise duty (road tax) and keeps records of drivers and vehicles in Great Britain. |
| DVSA | Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | UK agency that conducts driving tests, approves driving instructors, sets standards for MOT testing and checks the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles. |
| EDL | Enhanced driver's license | State driver's license that also proves US citizenship and identity for land and sea border crossings from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, using an RFID chip. |
| ELD | Electronic logging device | Device connected to a commercial truck's engine that automatically records driving time and engine hours to enforce hours-of-service rules. |
| ETC | Electronic toll collection | System that charges road and bridge tolls automatically using a windshield transponder or license-plate cameras, without stopping at a booth. |
| FM | Farm to Market Road | Texas state highway designation for rural secondary roads built to connect farms and ranches to towns and markets, written as FM followed by a number, such as FM 1960… |
| FR-44 | FR-44 certificate of financial responsibility | Form used in Florida and Virginia that certifies a driver convicted of DUI or similar offenses carries higher-than-normal liability insurance limits. |
| GDL | Graduated driver licensing | System that phases in driving privileges for new, usually teenage, drivers through a learner's permit, an intermediate license with restrictions on night driving and… |
| HOS | Hours of service | Federal rules limiting how long commercial truck and bus drivers may drive and work before resting. |
| HOT | High-occupancy toll | Lane that is free or discounted for carpools and buses but open to solo drivers who pay a toll, which often varies with traffic to keep the lane moving. |
| HOV | High-occupancy vehicle | Lane reserved for vehicles carrying at least two or three people, as well as buses and sometimes motorcycles and clean-air vehicles, to encourage carpooling and speed… |
| IDP | International Driving Permit | Booklet that translates a driver's license into multiple languages and is required or recommended for driving in many foreign countries. |
| IFTA | International Fuel Tax Agreement | Agreement among the 48 contiguous US states and 10 Canadian provinces that simplifies fuel-tax reporting for trucks traveling between jurisdictions. |
| LSV | Low-speed vehicle | Small four-wheeled vehicle with a top speed of 20 to 25 mph, such as a street-legal golf cart, permitted on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less in many US states. |
| MOT | Ministry of Transport test | Annual roadworthiness and emissions inspection required in Great Britain for most cars over three years old. |
| MUTCD | Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices | Federal Highway Administration standard that defines the design and use of every US traffic sign, signal and pavement marking, from stop signs to lane markings. |
| MVA | Motor Vehicle Administration | Maryland's motor vehicle agency, part of the state Department of Transportation, which handles driver licensing, vehicle titling and registration and emissions testing… |
| MVC | Motor Vehicle Commission | New Jersey state agency that licenses drivers and registers vehicles, created in 2003 to replace the old Division of Motor Vehicles after criticism of long waits and… |
| MVD | Motor Vehicle Division | Name of the motor vehicle agency in Arizona, New Mexico and Montana, among other states, responsible for licensing drivers and registering vehicles. |
| MVR | Motor vehicle record | Official driving history kept by a state, listing license status, violations, accidents, suspensions and DUI convictions. |
| PD | Property damage liability | Auto insurance coverage that pays for damage the policyholder causes to other people's property, such as cars, fences and buildings, in an at-fault crash. |
| PIP | Personal injury protection | Auto insurance coverage that pays medical expenses, lost wages and sometimes funeral and household services for the driver and passengers after an accident, regardless… |
| REAL ID | REAL ID-compliant identification | US federal standard for state driver's licenses and ID cards, created by the REAL ID Act of 2005 after the 9/11 Commission recommended secure identification. |
| RMV | Registry of Motor Vehicles | Massachusetts state agency, part of MassDOT, that issues driver's licenses, learner's permits and vehicle registrations. |
| RTOR | Right turn on red | Rule allowing drivers to turn right at a red light after coming to a full stop and yielding to pedestrians and traffic, unless a sign prohibits it. |
| RV | Recreational vehicle | Motor vehicle or trailer with living quarters for camping and travel, including motorhomes and towable travel trailers and fifth-wheels. |
| SoS | Secretary of State | Title of two very different US offices: the federal cabinet member who leads the State Department and conducts foreign policy, and the state-level official who in most… |
| SR | State Route | Designation for a state highway in many US states, such as SR 1 along the California coast or SR 520 in Seattle. |
| SR-22 | SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility | Form filed by an auto insurer with a state motor vehicle agency to prove that a high-risk driver carries at least the minimum required liability insurance. |
| TNC | Transportation network company | Legal term, coined by California regulators in 2013, for app-based ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft, which connect passengers with drivers using their own… |
| UIM | Underinsured motorist coverage | Auto insurance that pays when an at-fault driver has insurance but not enough to cover the victim's injuries. |
| ULEZ | Ultra Low Emission Zone | London charging zone in which older, more polluting vehicles must pay a daily fee of 12.50 pounds to drive. |
| UM | Uninsured motorist coverage | Auto insurance that pays for injuries to the policyholder and passengers, and in some states vehicle damage, when the at-fault driver has no liability insurance or in a… |
| US | United States Numbered Highway | Designation for routes in the US Numbered Highway System, created in 1926, written as US followed by a number, such as US 1 along the East Coast or US 101 on the West… |
| USDOT | US Department of Transportation number | Unique identifier issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to companies operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce, displayed on the sides of… |
| UTV | Utility task vehicle | Off-road vehicle with side-by-side seating, a steering wheel, roll cage and often a cargo bed, used on farms, ranches and trails. |
| V5C | Vehicle registration certificate (UK) | UK document, commonly called the logbook, that records a vehicle's registered keeper, registration number and details. |
| VMT | Vehicle miles traveled | Total miles driven by all vehicles in an area over a period, a key measure in transportation planning, highway funding and emissions estimates. |
| Crossing | Appears on road signs and pavement markings to warn of a crossing, as in "PED XING" (pedestrian crossing), "DEER XING" or "RR XING" (railroad crossing). |