In ruling for a charity that benefits crash victims earlier this month, the High Court of England and Wales supported a European Union court ruling on compulsory insurance that racers and racing fans believe will decimate motorsports across Europe.
The High Court, in its ruling for the plaintiff in RoadPeace v Secretary of State for Transport and MIB, held that any use of a motor vehicle, whether on or off public roads, requires motor vehicle insurance, a ruling consistent with the European Court of Justice’s September 2014 verdict in the case of Vnuk v. Triglav, which found that the EU’s 2009 Motor Insurance Directive did not clearly distinguish between on-road and off-road use and, therefore, any motor vehicle – regardless of its use on public or private property – must be insured.
The U.K.-based Motorsport Industry Association (which has yet to issue a statement on the RoadPeace ruling) earlier this year argued that the Vnuk ruling poses a significant threat to all European motorsports not only because on-track crashes will be subject to the same police investigations as on-road crashes, but also because insurance covering competition cars either doesn’t exist throughout the European Union or exists at rates of up to 20 times that of typical on-road insurance coverage.
It looks like going forward, all British racers will need vehicle insurance, regardless of venue.
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