KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
In the November edition of PHTMwe kept readers up to date with a couple of changes to the offence of ‘using a vehicle without insurance’. Further to the article a couple of readers got in touch as they had been accused of the slightly different offence of ‘keeping a vehicle without insurance’.
Whilst the offences sound similar, they are actually very different with different factors to consider, different defences and different sentences opon conviction.
KEEPING A VEHICLE WITHOUT INSURANCE
The charge of keeping a vehicle without insurance should not be confused with using a vehicle without insurance.
“Using” - is the one that most people will know and covers any person who drives or permits someone to drive a car without insurance. The offence carries 6-8 penalty points.
“Keeping” - is very different and doesn’t require any person to drive the car – merely keep it without a policy in place.
In accordance with Section 144A of the Road Traffic Act 1998 if you are found to be the registered keeper of a vehicle without the required insurance you will be subject to a fixed penalty notice of £100 – but no penalty points.
THE LAW
Regardless of the condition of the vehicle or where it is kept, unless the DVLA has been notified that your vehicle is being kept off road by means of a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN), then you will be required to maintain valid insurance for your vehicles. If you don’t, you could be liable for a fine.
In the instance where you have purchased or received a vehicle for which the previous owner had completed a SORN, then you will have to complete a SORN as well, as it is non-transferable.
Once you have completed the SORN for your vehicle it cannot be kept on a public road, you must keep it in a garage, on a driveway or on private land.
80
In the case of Fundo de Garantia Automovel v Juliana and another (Case C-80/17) - the court ruled even if the owner and registered keeper has no intention of using the vehicle it is still the sole responsibility and obligation of the vehicle’s owner to ensure there is valid insurance or to formally withdraw it from use (via SORN).
Whilst this took part in an EU court, as is the nature of the legal system of England and Wales, parts of this legislation are still applicable in our court system.
In this instance the registered keeper, Juliana, did not have insurance on her vehicle whilst it was parked on private land. As Juliana was in ill health, she had no intention of using the vehicle. However, as an incident happened in her vehicle by a named driver, the hearing was to establish if Juliana, as the owner and registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle, was culpable of making payment to the victims of the incident as she was at fault for not having a valid insurance policy despite having no intention to drive it. As she had not taken the necessary steps to declare her vehicle off the road, she was found to be at fault.
Whilst the liability for payment of the victims of this incident would not apply in English and Welsh Courts, this demonstrates that it is the owner and registered keepers’ responsibility to ensure that they have taken the necessary steps to declare the vehicle off the road, which in England and Wales is done via SORN.
Your SORN will automatically be cancelled when you tax your vehicle, if you sell the vehicle, have it scrapped or permanently exported. Otherwise, you will not need to renew your SORN.
EXCEPTIONS
There are exceptions to this which are detailed in Section 144B of the Road Traffic Act 1998. Some of these exceptions include if your vehicle has been registered “between registered keepers” or registered as “in trade”. Other exceptions are if your vehicle has been stolen and reported to the police, and yet to be recovered, or if you are not in possession of the vehicle at the time.
Furthermore, if your vehicle is under the operation or control of the emergency services or has been given permission from the Secretary of State for healthcare or local authority purposes, it will be exempt.
APRIL 2023 PHTM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90
