Is your child’s motorised buggy insured?
New EU laws could make motor insurance compulsory for virtually every vehicle; this would include golf buggies, ride-on lawnmowers, mobility scooters, dodgems, ride-on children’s toys and even electrically-assisted bicycles.
The directive has been enshrined in EU law already but because it goes against so many individual country’s laws the implications are still being worked out nationally.
A consultation is running until March, but the Department for Transport has admitted that it would have to abide by the rules until Britain left the EU, despite their ‘potentially costly consequences’.
Among the sweeping changes, the new rules would override the statutory off-road notification (SORN) scheme which permits uninsured cars to be kept on driveways. It would also extend insurance to accidents on private land.
A document from the DfT, published by The Telegraph, said, ‘This would result in us broadening our definition of a motor vehicle and extending our insurance requirement beyond roads and other public places. This could mean users of motor vehicles would be required to have third-party insurance on private land.’
According to The Telegraph, extending insurance to accidents on private land could lead to a rise in false claims, while law changes could open the government up to being retrospectively sued by accident victims who claims were denied in the past.
The EU has introduced this ruling as a result of a case in 2007, when a man was injured at work when a tractor reversed into him but his insurance company refused to pay out because the vehicle was not on the road.
