Q: What is viatology?
Viatology is the scientific study of highways. Empirical observation and reporting of roads defines this field of study.
Q: How did this term come to be?
The term was coined by Carlos Rogers in August 2007 after many years of travel into several countries and the inherent lack of a scientific term to discuss what he and fellow cohorts engaged. Prior to the development of this term, vernacular terms like "road scholar" or "roadgeek" were commonplace in small caucasian groups of North America.
Q: What is the etymology behind viatology?
The term "via" refers to one of the earliest highways in western history, the Appian Way (Via Appia). As you may know, "-ology" refers to the study of something. If you notice a "t" in viatology, that's simply the conjunction between "via" and "-ology".
Q: What is a viatologist?
A viatologist is any person who scientifically contributes to the field of viatology. Viatologists can be found on each continent of the globe, practising the science in many different languages.
Q: Are there international translations for the term?
Yes. The term viatology is also ported into other languages for a similar meaning:
français: la viatologie
italiano: la viatologia
Deutsch: die Viatologie
español: la viatología
