A new EU directive will almost certainly mean that self propelled machines such as garden tractors, lawn buggies and fork lift trucks will have to be covered by compulsory vehicle insurance in future, even if they are only used on private land.

The change stems from an accident in 2007 when Slovenian farm worker, Damijan Vnuk, was knocked off his ladder by a reversing tractor and trailer whilst stacking hay bales in the loft of a barn.

His claim against the motor insurers of the tractor was rejected on the grounds that the tractor was being used on private ground and involved a vehicle being used as an ‘agricultural machine’.

Under Slovenian domestic law, the requirement for compulsory insurance for use of motor vehicles did not expressly refer to ‘road use’ but was understood to be confined to road traffic use. Vnuk’s claim failed because it was held that compulsory insurance did not extend to situations where the tractor was being used as a machine or propulsion device.

Not content with this uncertainty, the Slovenian Supreme Court sought a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the question; “Do the European directives on motor insurance require this kind of ‘use of vehicles’ to be covered by third party motor insurance”?

The ECJ confirmed that the concept of ‘use of vehicles‘ in the relative article ‘covers any use’ of a vehicle that ‘is consistent with the normal function of that vehicle’.

Therefore as a result of the Vnuk decision, the scope of compulsory motor insurance extends to  Any motor vehicle … intended for travel on land and propelled by mechanical power… any use made of that vehicle … consistent with a normal function of that vehicle… and in any geographic location, even on private property.

Under UK law, Article 3(1) of the Directive is enacted in the Road Traffic Act 1988. The obligation for third party cover specifically excludes use on private land, limiting compulsory insurance to “use on roads or other public places” and applies to vehicles “intended or adapted for use on roads”.

There is therefore a conflict between UK domestic road traffic motor insurance arrangements and the Vnuk decision. The decision inevitably means that the Road Traffic Act 1988 will need to be amended to make it compatible with European law to extend the scope of compulsory motor insurance to include the use of motor vehicles on private land – and by implication increase the number of vehicles that come under the scope of the newly defined directive.