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Dictionary
Vacuum Assist Power Brakes:
Standard type hydraulic brakes with a pressure assist cylinder having a vacuum chamber which when atmospheric pressure is allowed to one side of the piston or diaphragm, drives a plunger in the hydraulic system thereby increasing the effect of pedal pressure.
(TII1) (TII2)
Value of Property Assisted:
Monetary value of the distressed unit (including cargo) at the time assistance was rendered by the Coast Guard.
(USCG3)
Van:
Vehicle having a typical seating capacity of 5 to 15 passengers and classified as a van by vehicle manufacturers. A modified van is a standard van which has undergone some structural changes, usually made to increase its size and particularly its height. The seating capacity of modified vans is approximately 9 to 18 passengers.
(FTA1)
Vanpool:
A transit mode comprised of vans, small buses and other vehicles operating as a ride sharing arrangement, providing transportation to a group of individuals traveling directly between their homes and a regular destination within the same geographical area. The vehicles shall have a minimum seating capacity of seven persons, including the driver.
(BTS13)
Vaporization:
An addition of thermal energy changing a liquid or semisolid to a vapor or gaseous state.
(49CFR193)
Vaporizer:
A heat transfer facility designed to introduce thermal energy in a controlled manner for changing a liquid or semisolid to a vapor or gaseous state.
(49CFR193)
Variable Operating Cost:
In reference to passenger car operating cost, expenditures which are dependent on the amount of use of the car, such as the cost of gas and oil, tires, and other maintenance.
(DOE6)
Vehicle:
Motorized vehicles used by U.S. households for personal transportation. Excluded are motorcycles, mopeds, large trucks, and buses. Included are automobiles, station wagons, passenger vans, cargo vans, motor homes, pickup trucks, and jeeps or similar vehicles. To be included, vehicles must be: 1) Owned by members of the household, or 2) Company cars not owned by household members but regularly available to household members for their personal use and ordinarily kept at home, or 3) Rented or leased for 1 month or more.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle Acquisition:
The number of vehicles a household acquires or obtains during the year. The average number of vehicles in the stock is computed using these data.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle Class:
A term that includes sedans, station wagons, ambulances, buses and trucks, or different categories of vehicles according to Federal Standards for fiscal year 1992.
(GSA1)
Vehicle Class:
The first three characters of the vehicle license number on a government vehicle. The first character will always be "G".
(GSA2)
Vehicle Configuration:
The combination of vehicular units comprising a commercial motor vehicle.
(FHWA4)
Vehicle Disposition:
The number of vehicles a household disposes of during the survey year. Disposed vehicles include those sold, traded, or the owner moved out of the household. The average number of vehicles in the stock is computed using these data.
(DOE4)
Vehicle Fuel:
The predominant type of fuel purchased during 1991. Data categories are leaded and unleaded gasoline, diesel motor fuel and "other" which includes propane and gasohol.
(DOE5)
Vehicle Fuel Consumption:
Vehicle fuel consumption is computed as the vehicle miles traveled divided by the fuel efficiency reported in MPGs. Vehicle fuel consumption is derived from the actual vehicle mileage collected and the assigned MPGs obtained from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification files adjusted for on-road driving. The quantity of fuel used by vehicles.
(DOE5)
Vehicle Fuel Expenditures:
The cost, including taxes, of the gasoline, gasohol, or diesel fuel added to the vehicle's tank. Expenditures do not include the cost of oil or other items that may have been purchased at the same time as the vehicle fuel.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle Fuel Tank Capacity:
The tank's unusable capacity (i.e., the volume of fuel left at the bottom of the tank when the vehicle's fuel pump can no longer draw fuel from the tank) plus its usable capacity (i.e., the volume of fuel that can be pumped into the tank through the filler pipe with the vehicle on a level surface and with the unusable capacity already in the tank). The term does not include the vapor volume of the tank (i.e., the space above the fuel tank filler neck) nor the volume of the fuel tank filler neck.
(49CFR571)
Vehicle Identification Number:
A set of about 17 codes, combining letters and numbers, assigned to a vehicle at the factory and inscribed on a small metal label attached to the dashboard and visible through the windshield. The vehicle identification number (VIN) is a unique identifier for the vehicle and therefore is often found on insurance cards, vehicle registrations, vehicle titles, safety or emission certificates, insurance policies, and bills of sale. The coded information in the VIN describes characteristics of the vehicle such as engine size and weight.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle In Use:
All vehicles in the inventory that are permanently assigned to an agency or in paid seasonal storage.
(GSA2)
Vehicle Kilometer:
Unit of measurement of traffic representing the movement of an individual Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) vessel or convoy over one kilometer.
(TNDOT1)
Vehicle Maintenance (Transit):
All activities associated with revenue and nonrevenue (service) vehicle maintenance, including administration, inspection and maintenance, and servicing (cleaning, fueling, etc.) vehicles. In addition, it includes repairs due to vandalism or to revenue vehicle accidents.
(BTS11)
Vehicle Maneuver:
Last action (maneuver) this vehicle's driver engaged in either 1) just prior to the impact or 2) just before the driver realized the impending danger.
(NHTSA1)
Vehicle Mile:
Measures the distance traveled by a private vehicle, such as an automobile, van, pickup truck, or motorcycle. Each mile traveled is counted as one vehicle-mile regardless of number of passengers.
(BTS12)
Vehicle Miles:
The total number of miles traveled by transit vehicles. Commuter rail, heavy rail, and light rail report individual car miles rather than train miles for vehicle miles.
(FTA2)
Vehicle Miles (Highway):
Miles of travel by all types of motor vehicles as determined by the states on the basis of actual traffic counts and established estimating procedures.
(BTS11)
Vehicle Miles (Transit):
The total number of miles traveled by transit vehicles. Commuter rail, heavy rail, and light rail report individual car-miles, rather than train-miles for vehicle-miles.
(BTS11)
Vehicle Miles of Travel:
The number of miles traveled nationally by vehicles for a period of 1 year. VMT is either calculated using 2 odometer readings or, for vehicles with less than 2 odometer readings, imputed using a regression estimate.
(DOE5)
Vehicle Miles Operated:
Sum of all miles operated by passenger vehicles, including mileage when no passengers are carried. When vehicles are operated in trains, each vehicle is counted separately-e.g., an eight-vehicle train operating for one mile equals eight vehicle miles.
(APTA1)
Vehicle Miles Traveled:
One vehicle traveling the distance of one mile. Total vehicle miles, thus, is the total mileage traveled by all vehicles.
(DOE6)
Vehicle Occupancy:
The number of persons, including driver and passenger(s) in a vehicle; also includes persons who did not complete a whole trip. Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (NPTS) occupancy rates are generally calculated as person miles divided by vehicle miles.
(FHWA3)
Vehicle On Hand:
All vehicles for which General Services Administration (GSA) has accountability.
(GSA2)
Vehicle Operations:
All activities associated with the subcategories of the vehicle operations function: transportation administration and support; revenue vehicle operation; ticketing and fare collection; and system security.
(FTA1)
Vehicle Revenue Miles/Hours:
The miles/hours a vehicle travels while in revenue service. A transit vehicle is in revenue service only when the vehicle is available to the public and there is a reasonable expectation of carrying passengers that either directly pay fares, are subsidized by public policy, or provide payment through some contractual arrangement. This does not imply that a cash fare must be paid. Vehicles operated in free fare service are considered in revenue service. Vehicle revenue miles/hours exclude travel to and from storage facilities, training operators prior to revenue service, road tests and deadhead travel, as well as school bus and charter services.
(FTA1)
Vehicle Role:
Role of vehicle in single or multi-vehicle crashes (i.e., non-collision, striking, and struck).
(NHTSA1)
Vehicle Stock:
The number of vehicles owned or used by a household for personal transportation. A vehicle is defined in terms of a "Vehicle Year." If a vehicle is present in a household for the entire year, it counted as one vehicle. If a vehicle is present in a household for one-half of the year, it is counted as only one-half of a vehicle. Therefore, the number of vehicles a sample household was considered as having during the year was computed as the days of possession summed over all vehicles in the household, divided by days in a year.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle Trip:
A trip by a single vehicle regardless of the number of persons in the vehicle.
(FHWA3)
Vehicle Type:
A series of motor vehicle body types that have been grouped together because of their design similarities.
(NHTSA1) (NHTSA3)
Vehicle Used On the Job:
A vehicle used by anyone in the household for job-related activities, excluding commuting to and from work.
(DOE4) (DOE5)
Vehicle/Pedestrian Deviation:
An entry or movement on an airport movement area by a vehicle operator or pedestrian that has not been authorized by air traffic control (includes aircraft operated by a non-pilot).
(FAA3) (FAA10)
Vehicles Available For Maximum Service:
The number of revenue vehicles available to meet the annual maximum service requirements. This includes spares, out-of-service vehicles, and vehicles in or awaiting maintenance, but excludes vehicles awaiting sale and emergency contingency vehicles.
(FTA1)
Vehicles in Total Fleet:
All revenue vehicles held at the end of the fiscal year, including those in storage, emergency contingency and awaiting sale.
(FTA1)
Vehicles Operated In Maximum Service:
The number of revenue vehicles operated to meet annual maximum service requirements. This is the revenue vehicle count during the peak season of the year, on the week and day that maximum service is provided. Vehicles operated in maximum service exclude atypical days or one-time special events.
(FTA1)
Very High Frequency Communications:
Provides radio voice communications between aircraft and ground stations, also between aircraft. Very High Frequency (VHF) is limited in angle (line of sight) and usually used for air traffic communications.
(FAA6)
Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range:
Used as the basis for navigation in the National Airspace System.
(FAA2) (FAA6)
Very Large Crude Carrier:
A crude oil carrying ship of between 160,001 and 320,000 deadweight tons.
(DOE5)
Vessel:
Every description of watercraft, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water.
(49CFR171)
Vessel:
Tankers used to transport crude oil and petroleum products. Vessel categories are as follows: Ultra Large Crude Carrier (ULCC), Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), Other Tanker, and Specialty Ships Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)/Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
(DOE5)
Vessel Bunkering:
Includes sales for the fueling of commercial or private boats, such as pleasure craft, fishing boats, tugboats, and ocean-going vessels, including vessels operated by oil companies. Excluded are volumes sold to the U.S. Armed Forces.
(DOE5)
Vessel Casualty (Water):
An occurrence involving commercial vessels that results in 1) Actual physical damage to property in excess of $25,000; 2) Material damage affecting the seaworthiness or efficiency of a vessel; 3) Stranding or grounding; 4) Loss of life; or 5) Injury causing any person to remain incapacitated for a period in excess of 72 hours, except injury to harbor workers not resulting in death and not resulting from vessel casualty or vessel equipment casualty.
(BTS11)
Vessel Kilometer:
Unit of measurement representing the movement of an Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) vessel over one kilometer.
(TNDOT1)
Vessel-Casualty-Related Death:
Fatality that occurs as a result of an incident that involves a vessel or its equipment, such as a collision, fire, or explosion. Includes drowning deaths.
(BTS11)
Visual Flight Rules :
Rules that govern the procedures for conducting flight under visual conditions. The term (VFR) is also used in the U.S. to indicate weather conditions that are equal to or greater than minimum Visual Flight Rules (VFR) requirements. In addition, it is used by pilots and controllers to indicate type of flight plan.
(FAA13) (FAA14)
Visual Flight Rules Conditions:
Weather conditions equal to or better than the minimum for flight under visual flight rules.
(FAA8)
Visual Flight Rules Over-The-Top:
With respect to the operation of aircraft, means the operation of an aircraft over-the-top under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) when it is not being operated on an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan.
(14CFR1)
Visual Flight Rules Terminal Area Charts:
Depict Class B airspace which provides for the control of segregation of all the aircraft within Class B airspace. The chart depicts topographic information and aeronautical information which includes visual and radio aids to navigation, airports, controlled airspace, restricted areas, obstructed and related data.
(FAA4)
Visual Flight Rules Tower:
An airport traffic control tower providing takeoff and landing services only. It does not provide approach control services.
(FAA10) (FAA13) (FAA14)
Visual Meteorological Conditions :
Meteorological conditions expressed in terms of visibility, distance from cloud, and ceiling equal to or better than the specified minima.
(FAA8)
Visual Runway:
A runway without an existing or planned straight in instrument approach procedure.
(FAA12)