Rights of Way in England and Wales - Byways Open To All Traffic

Byways Open To All Traffic

A byway open to all traffic, or BOAT, is a highway over which the public have a right to travel for vehicular and all other kinds of traffic but which is used by the public mainly for the purpose for which footpaths and bridleways are used. (Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, section 15(9)(c), as amended by Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Act 1991, Schedule 1).

Since the 2006 Regulations to the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 BOATs should more properly be referred to as Byways.

A byway open to all traffic is sometimes waymarked using a red arrow on a metal or plastic disc or by red paint dots on gateposts or trees.