Important EU Consultation Re Insurances

[Peter Mallett]

We've discussed this before but I received the following from Motor Racing Legends. Anyone with an interest in Motorsport in the UK and EU may be wise to submit their thoughts. The message is self explanatory.

Originally Posted by Motor Racing Legends

Urgent Action Required
Help save our Sport from EU directive
There is a truly serious threat to our sport looming out of the EU very soon – that will result in all forms of motorsport in Europe being forced to shut down. This threat is very real and is no joke. It is imperative that we all respond to the EU Survey on this issue to make our views known. The deadline for submissions is October 20th. Chris Aylett of the MIA has put together an extremely useful guide explaining how to respond, exactly what to say, and which sections to ignore. It takes less than 10 minutes to complete if you follow the MIA guidance.

If you are a company active in motor sport, please amend the figures for staff etc at the relevant point. If you are an individual, I suggest you just substitute ‘we’ for ‘I’.

It is vital that we all respond to this survey right away.

Here is the message from Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the Motorsport Industry Association:

Subject: URGENT ACTION - to save motorsport in all EU Member States your personal action is needed before October 20th - THIS IS A GENUINE THREAT
Importance: High

Dear Motorsport friend and colleague,

I do not apologise for the dramatic title to this message as our industry and sport face a serious, immediate problem which you can help resolve.

We have until October 20th to respond to this important EC consultation, details of which are attached - if we fail to secure the amendment we seek then the likely outcome is that all motorsport activity, in every EU Member State, will cease.

All involved in the business and organisation of European motorsport need to act NOW to overcome this genuine threat to our own future and that of our employees and sport, from the unintended consequences of action taken by the European Commission (EC).

The Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), along with others including the UK Department for Transport, has been fighting to resolve this issue for more than two years, on behalf of our members and the wider EU motorsport community. Now, with your personal leadership and action, it is possible for us to resolve this.

In simple terms, the EC plans to issue a new Motor Insurance Directive, as a result of which all EU Member States must put into their National Law compulsory and unlimited third-party liability insurance to cover personal injury between motorsport competitors and car-to-car damage during any competition – from Formula One, Moto GP, World Rally to karting, historic and grass roots, whether regulated by the FIA or FIM or not.

However such widespread unlimited new insurance is not currently and, we understand, will not in the future be available - so motorsport will be unable to continue anywhere in the EU.

Please respond BY OCTOBER 20th to the EC Review Consultation - https://ec.europa.eu/info/consultati...r-insurance_en by using the simple ‘MIA Response Guidelines’ which can be downloaded here. This will take LESS THAN TEN MINUTES – a short time commitment to keep motorsport alive, and the jobs it supports, in place.

It is most important that you estimate, if motorsport were to cease, how many jobs will be lost directly from your organisation and indirectly by your suppliers or the sport, as this significant economic impact will influence the European Commission.

We really must work together to make the European Commission fully aware of the economic importance of motorsport and the employment which our sport and industry provides across the European Union. Please forward this email to fellow drivers, friends, car preparers and other motorsport contacts.

If you have any questions or comments then please email me and I will respond immediately as we must meet the deadline of October 20th.

Thank you most sincerely – your immediate help is invaluable and much appreciated

Best regards

Chris

[Londoner]

"Ah stop complaining you Remoaner, we're leaving the EU in 2019 so deal with it. Leave means Leave, etc etc" :P

Let's be honest though, this reeks of scaremongering. Do you really think the FIA or Liberty Media, or any of the large OEMs are going to go "ah well, we can't have motor racing in Europe any more"? This'll be resolved quickly and quietly, nothing to worry about.

(I voted Remain in the referendum, just for the record.)

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Londoner

Let's be honest though, this reeks of scaremongering. Do you really think the FIA or Liberty Media, or any of the large OEMs are going to go "ah well, we can't have motor racing in Europe any more"? This'll be resolved quickly and quietly, nothing to worry about.

Remember the Bosman Ruling?
Before the final ruling, many people (both in sport and legal circles) said that that it would never happen or change things. FIFA and UEFA were seen by many as too powerful (along with the football clubs) to allow the EU to reach the decision that changed the face of football transfers forever.

[AdrianM]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Remember the Bosman Ruling?
Before the final ruling, many people (both in sport and legal circles) said that that it would never happen or change things. FIFA and UEFA were seen by many as too powerful (along with the football clubs) to allow the EU to reach the decision that changed the face of football transfers forever.

Not even remotely comparable.

The official EU position is that it is only to be applied to vehicles in traffic. I can't imagine they are going to have loads of depositions from people who want it extended to include circuit racing as well.

Just one of those things that someone jumped on a couple of years ago and got blown out of all proportion. If you read the UK law on the subject it's far more vague.

[midgetman]

You seem to have missed the whole purpose behind the measure. It started when an Eastern European called Vnuk was knocked off a ladder by an uninsured driver on a quad. It was on private land and there was, until this consultation, no requirement for insurance on private land. The worrying part of the consultation is the "unlimited liability" and it is this point which means no insurance company will pick it up. Thus if it goes through it will be impossible to comply with the law therefore racing cars, golf buggies and your powered lawn mower will necessarily illegal. Not to mention electric wheelchairs, Segways and those electric hover board things kids play on.

Sent from my EVA-L09 using Tapatalk

[Peter Mallett]

I think part of the issue is that in many jurisdictions there is no implied duty of care. As a f'rinstance in Engalnd and Wales (English Law) there is a duty to protect persons who enter your land. This is in the Occupiers Act and even applies to trespassers. So if you know that there is something dangerous, such as a hole in the footpath, or loose roofing tiles, or a
viscious dog, or even a motorised lawnmower, as the occupier you must take steps to protect those persons who enter the land. In motor sport we are told, when we buy a ticket that "motor racing is dangerous" and thus we enter at our personal risk.

This proposed legislation does not account for persons taking risks which they can calculate. It assumes that someone else must be liable for our actions.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by AdrianM

The official EU position is that it is only to be applied to vehicles in traffic. I can't imagine they are going to have loads of depositions from people who want it extended to include circuit racing as well.

That's not correct, the official position of the Court of Justice of the European Union is that the duty to insure extends to the accident circumstances in the Vnuk case (on private land, with the vehicle not used in traffic).

'It found that the wording 'use of vehicles' covers any use of a vehicle that is consistent with 'the normal function' of that vehicle. The judgment made no specific reference to the duty to insure extending to private property (such as the farmyard in which Mr Vnuk was working) but it seems an inevitable conclusion that the court's view was that it did. In addition, the ruling could lead to a stream of cases dealing with how you determine "the normal function" of a vehicle and indeed how far the definition of 'vehicle' extends.'

https://www.weightmans.com/insights/...the-vnuk-case/

The official EU position as a whole is not defined yet, and they are still consulting with a number of options proposed. One of those is that the application should only apply to vehicles in traffic - but that is not clear yet.

The DfT Impact Assessment of the EC Directive as it stands is that 'third party insurance [will be] required in respect of a range of vehicles, including non-road going vehicles and vehicles used on private land.'
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...assessment.pdf

[S griffin]

Well let's hope this is sorted out quickly, but I don't see all these fears happening anyway