This is also available as a PDF

Massachusetts Area Rallye Council
Rally Regulations

Revised April 1978, Reprinted August 2001

The following rules become official for any rallye whose generals so specify, except as modified in those general instructions.

Competing crews are restricted to a Driver/Navigator team; passengers under 12 years old are permitted.

1. A possible rallye road is a paved, public, through road which is legal to enter. A rallyist may enter an unpaved road when specifically told to do so by an instruction using the term unpaved. A road may become unpaved without mention in the rallye instructions and a rallyist is permitted to continue on unpaved only as long as no opportunity exists to take a paved road.

2a. Numbered Route Instructions (NRIs) will be executed in numerical order at the first opportunity, and each will be executed fully before going on to the next NRI unless overlap is specifically permitted within the instruction. If an NRI is accompanied by an official mileage, it must be executed at that official mileage. Separate parts of the same NRI are to be executed in the same order in which they are given. An official mileage accompanying a multi-part instruction refers to the first part.

b. The minimum distance between consecutive actions or references in a single NRI is one inch. The minimum distance between the point of completion of one NRI and the first action or reference point of the next NRI is one inch. The maximum distance between points of action or reference required by parts of an NRI, or between points of action or reference of consecutive NRIs, is three (3.00) miles. The minimum and maximum distances are measured as the rallye vehicle travels along the rallye route.

Conversion factors:
1 mile = 1.6093 kilometers 1 kilometer = 0.6214 miles

3. Lettered Route Instructions (LRIs) will be executed at every opportunity while active. LRIs become active upon completion of the NRI immediately preceding it in the route instructions; it may also be activated at other times by other instructions. The execution of an LRI may overlap NRIs, other LRIs, and subsequent executions of the same LRI, except that an action or condition which is referenced to a sign or landmark may be executed only once for each unique occurrence of the reference point. LRIs take precedence over NRIs; if both an NRI and an LRI are applicable at the same point and conflict or are redundant with each other, execute the LRI and hold the NRI for later execution.

4. When directed onto a named, numbered, or lettered route by use of the term(s) on or onto in a route instruc-tion, stay on that road at each marked intersection until a subsequent course following instruction is executed. If an unmarked intersection is encountered or the route designation ends, continue on course as if instructed onto a road without indication of name, number or letter. If the name, number or letter is re-encountered prior to execut-ing the next course following instruction, stay on the road as described in this paragraph. On and onto may overlap non course following instructions. Staying on by use of the term(s) on or onto does not constitute the execution of a route instruction or part of a route instruction. In the absence of other requirements go straight as possible, determined as you enter the intersection.

5. Rallies are run on a leg-to-leg basis. Time gained or lost on one leg cannot be made up on the next leg.

6. Information given in the route instructions in parentheses will be considered as helpful or informative but not essential for completion of the route instruction.

7a. A portion of a route instruction appearing in quotation marks refers to written material on signs. All written material on the same support shall be considered to be the same sign. Spelling is precise. Ignore punctuation or capitalization. Quotations are not identified as being full or partial. Only prominent portions of signs will be quoted unless the portion of the sign used can be read in full under rallye conditions. Individual words and number groups are always quoted fully and in the order in which they appear. Words or number groups are not to be omitted from the middle of quoted material unless ellipsis marks, ... , are used in the place of the omitted material. Quotations in the route instructions will never refer to written material on the road surface, on or attached to vehicles, marker stones in cemeteries, and mail boxes and their supports. Utility pole numbers and numbers on buildings will not be quoted.

b. You will not have to look backward to see any sign or object, but you may have to look anywhere else.

8. The following minimum information will be given to each car at each manned control: official mileage, the number of the next NRI to be executed (when an NRI is in the process of being executed this must be stated explicitly), only LRI(s) which are active, the correct speed at which to begin the next leg, and the official correct time for the leg just completed. This information will normally be presented to contestants by means of a written control slip. Additional instructions may be given out at a control. They have overriding priority and, unless otherwise specified, become effective immediately upon crossing that controlbs timing line.

Glossary

 

acute A turn of substantially more than 90° at an intersection where there exists more than one opportunity to turn in the direction indicated.

 

after Any instruction that has a navigational aid ident-ified by the use of the term after must be executed at the first opportunity completely beyond the navigational aid.

 

AND/OR A route instruction may be separated into two parts by the term AND/OR. If the second part can be begun first, execute it only, and the instruction is completed; if not, execute both parts, in order.

 

at In the vicinity of for a route instruction which directs the rallyist to proceed in a particular direction; even with for speed changes, mileages, pauses, etc.

 

bear A turn of substantially less than 90º at an intersection where there exists more than one opportunity to turn in the direction indicated.

 

before Any navigational aid identified by the use of the term before must be visible from the execution point of the instruction. The instruction must be executed at the last opportunity prior to the navigational aid.

 

BFZ Begin Free Zone

 

BTZ Begin Transit Zone

 

CAS Commence or continue average speed of the indicated number of miles per hour.

 

course following instruction An instruction or portion of an instruction which directs the rallyist to proceed in a direction in which he would not have proceeded in the absence of the course following instruction.

 

cross To go completely across. The rallye vehicles tires must contact the surface which it is crossing.

 

crossroad An intersection at which two rallye roads cross each other at approximately 90º.

 

DIY leg Do It Yourself leg. A portion of the rallye route for which the rallyist must calculate or estimate the elapsed time, using the speeds and/or times given in the instructions. A DIY leg is a free zone.

 

EFZ End Free Zone

 

ETZ End Transit Zone

 

free zone A part of the timed rallye route specified as a free zone is an area in which there are no timing controls. A free zone may overlap subsequent instructions.

 

gain To make up a specified time during the passage of a specified interval. The gain time is subtracted from the time required at the given average speed(s) to traverse the specified interval. The specified interval in which a gain is operative will contain no timing controls.

 

intersection A meeting of two or more rallye roads from which the rallyist may proceed in more than one direction without U turning.

 

island An untraveled area visibly bounded by rallye roads. No two consecutive numbered route instructions may be executed at the same island. This definition applies whether or not the term island appears in the route instruction.

 

left or L A turn to the left of from 10º to 170º, or the location of a navigational aid.

 

leg A part of the rallye extending from an assigned starting time to the next control, or from one control to the next.

 

LRI Lettered Route Instruction

 

mileage, approximate The distance from the start of a section to a point along the rallye route given to within 0.1 miles.

 

mileage, official The distance from the start of a section to a point along the rallye route given within 0.01 mile.

 

NRI Numbered Route Instruction

 

OR A route instrcution may be separated into two parts by the term OR. Execute only that part which can be begun first, and consider the entire instruction completed.

 

pause To delay a specified time at a point or during passage of a specified interval. The pause time is added to the time required at the given average speed(s) to traverse the specified interval. The specified interval in which a

 

pause is operative will contain no timing controls. paved A rallye road having a surface such as concrete, brick, macadam, etc.

 

right or R A turn to the right of from 10º to 170º, or the location of a navigational aid.

 

SAP To go straight as possible.

 

section Any part of a rallye route at the beginning of which the official mileage is zero and at the end of which the official mileage ends or reverts to zero.

 

signalized intersection or SI An intersection controlled by one or more traffic regulating lights, which need not be operating.

 

stop An official octagonal stop sign at which the rallye vehicle is required by law to stop.

 

T An intersection of approximately 90º having the general shape of a T as you approach it from the bottom. A route instruction cannot cause you to leave a T intersection in a SAP direction.

 

transit zone A part of the rallye route in which there will be no timing controls and no average speed will be specified. Either an exact time for passage, or a restart time from the end of the transit zone must be given. An approximate distance for the length of the transit zone is desirable. A transit zone may overlap subsequent instructions.

 

turn To make a change of course or direction at an intersection which would not have been made in the absence of any course following instruction. A turn cannot be executed by going straight as possible.

 

unpaved A rallye road having a surface such as broken stones, gravel, dirt, etc.