Road classification and road hierarchy are essential steps making sure that roads are designed and used properly.Road classification is an approach, to sort them into a small number of groups or classes, and then assigns the roads in a networkto one or more of these groups. There are many ways to classify roads. One of them is regarding road hierarchy (or morespecifically, functional road hierarchy). The efficiency and effectiveness of the road network directly impact economic growthand societal development. Economically, it is important through classification of roads to represent every road function, as itcan enhance the delivery of goods efficient and effective. Arterial roads of a higher class significantly influence economicdevelopment by providing the main route of fright transportation and services, as well as significantly influence societal developmentas it provides a safe, effective and efficient route to travel on. At the same time, the high volume of traffic-relatedaccidents calls for a road network that is safe for all road-users. It is known that the physical road network affects traffic anddriver behaviour, and this in turn directly influences energy consumption and the environmental impacts associated with theemissions thereof. In this article review at road classification and road hierarchy of worldwide. It concludes with some commentson the current Lithuanian situation. It can be achieved in Lithuania to make influences to road safety, speed regulation,driver behaviour, traffic studies and accessibility to services.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/enviro.2017.155