Vehicle

From ArticleWorld

Every single day we hear the word vehicle, without really understanding what it means and what it refers to. What is a vehicle? How can the term be defined? According to the dictionary it is defined as being a non-living mean of transportation. This translates in the fact that, in most cases, it is man made. There are also vehicles that are not created by man and are referred to as being simple means of transportation. Examples can be: floating tree trunks and icebergs. They are considered vehicles because they can be used to transport something or someone from one location to the other.

Contents 1 Vehicles and animals 2 Land vehicles 3 Flying vehicles 4 Common mistakes

Vehicles and animals

Any transportation device has to move. Vehicles are moved with the help of a motor, although there are several vehicles out there that are animal propelled (for example chariots). A common mistake appears when talking about animals that are used for movement purposes. Even if you can use an animal to travel by, it is not considered a vehicle. For instance you can ride a horse or carry another person. In this case neither the horse nor you are vehicles.

Land vehicles

When talking about land vehicles, the most common part of them is the wheel. A wheel is a round object that also has an axis linked to it, built with the purpose of rolling. Examples of land vehicles that do not need a wheel are the hovercraft, the travois and the sled. On the other hand, other vehicles like bicycles and cars need wheels. Without them they couldn't move.

Flying vehicles

A special category of vehicles consists in flying vehicles. They do not need wheels and the technology that makes them fly is more complicated than with land vehicles. Examples of such machines include the helicopter and the airplane.

Common mistakes

When talking about the term vehicle you should now that the meaning it has can be mistaken with something else. We are talking about electoral vehicle (that has a political meaning) and economic vehicle (which is used in economy). Also, you might meet another term, AVL, which means Automatic Vehicle Location.