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 Post subject: ACU newsletter - Potential threat to all UK motorsport
PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2016 10:41 pm 
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More joy from the Eurocrats:

Joint statement from the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) and the Amateur Motor Cycle Association (AMCA)

British motorsport could end due to EU ruling]

The outcome of a government consultation on a piece of EU insurance legislation could end motorsport in the UK.

Yesterday, the Government issued a document for public consultation, which gives an option of implementing the European Court decision known as the ‘Vnuk judgment’. The ruling makes it compulsory for anyone using any form of motorised transport to have third party damage and injury insurance. This will affect all participants in all forms of motorsport.

The insurance industry has made it clear to government that third party risks for motorsport activities are uninsurable, not least because of the sheer number of potential vehicle damage claims that would arise. Therefore, if implemented, the Vnuk judgment would wipe out all legal motor and motorcycle sport activity.

In the UK, the motorsport industry employs over 50,000 people, generates a total of £11 billion of sales each year and is backed up by a world-leading high performance engineering industry.

Motorcycle competition is a popular UK Sport and generates much needed income in rural areas, with over 1.9 million spectators watching around 58,000 riders attend an average of over 4000 off-road and track events each year. These range from junior motocross to the British Superbikes, which would all end without the required insurance under the ECJ ruling.*

MCIA, ACU and AMCA call on the government to exempt motor and motorcycle sport from any changes to insurance law which arise from the ECJ judgment. While the UK remains in the EU, even a temporary implementation of the ruling, as suggested by the Department for Transport in its consultation document, would be fatally damaging to what is an important industry and net contributor to the UK economy.

Speaking for the ACU, AMCA and MCIA, Steve Kenward, CEO of MCIA says:
“At a stroke, this would wipe out a successful industry and all the jobs that go with it, as well as eliminating a popular leisure pursuit for 1.9 million people, along with the boost that this gives to both local and national economies.
“If the Government implements the Vnuk judgment un-amended, British motorcycle sport would end in the UK. Given that we are coming out of the EU, we are astonished that the Government is even considering an option to implement Vnuk. We call on Ministers to end uncertainty and put a stop to Vnuk in the UK.”

Background:
The Vnuk judgment imposes compulsory third party injury and damage insurance to all vehicles of any kind when used on any type of land. As well as affecting all motorsport vehicles, it could affect electric bicycles, sit-on lawnmowers, golf buggies, mobility scooters and even uninsured vehicles parked on private property under the Statutory Off-Road Notification scheme. The ruling stems from a case involving a Slovenian farm worker, who was hurt falling from a ladder, which was hit by a reversing tractor.

ENDS
Notes
· You can read the consultation document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... k-judgment
· The original judgement arises from Damijan Vnuk v Zavarovalnica Triglav C-162/13. See: http://curia.europa.eu/juris/liste.jsf? ... anguage=EN
· *Figures come from MCIA industry commissioned report.
ENDS ALL
For additional information please contact Steve Muir - email press@mcia.co.uk


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 Post subject: Re: ACU newsletter - Potential threat to all UK motorsport
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:38 am 
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cee-b wrote:
More joy from the Eurocrats:



There has been enough hatrid/xenophobia this year whipped up by EU bashing. Lets make no mistake although it was raised in the EU, its an option and its something the UK government want to run with, BUT the EU is not making them, if it happens we will only have the evil witch at Westminster to blame! However they will of course blame it on the EU because the British love blaming their failings on the EU rather than looking inward.

Looks to me like a storm whipped up so some lawyers can make a bit more cash in court.


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 Post subject: Re: ACU newsletter - Potential threat to all UK motorsport
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 12:17 pm 
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spitfire wrote:
cee-b wrote:
More joy from the Eurocrats:



There has been enough hatrid/xenophobia this year whipped up by EU bashing. Lets make no mistake although it was raised in the EU, its an option and its something the UK government want to run with, BUT the EU is not making them, if it happens we will only have the evil witch at Westminster to blame! However they will of course blame it on the EU because the British love blaming their failings on the EU rather than looking inward.

Looks to me like a storm whipped up so some lawyers can make a bit more cash in court.



It is amazing how quickly someone can attempt to take a subject in some random direction by making allegations of xenophobia or EU bashing.

It is not EU bashing to put this down to Eurocrats. Nor is it an 'option' that the UK Government wants to run with.

Have you even read the document??

The ‘Vnuk judgment’ was a decision made by the European Court and it means that domestic motor insurance law cannot stay as it is.


I posted this as information because I thought it might be of interest to TRF members. I am not going to get involved in any further comment. Especially comment based upon puerile opinions such as that expressed above

Colin Blackburn


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 Post subject: Re: ACU newsletter - Potential threat to all UK motorsport
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:27 pm 
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VNUK has been a live issue for some considerable time.


It's origins lay in the EU benefit of regulations that facilitate motor insurance that automatically covers you for travel within the EU.


It is misleading to state that the threat is to all UK motorsport. The reality is that the threat is to all EU motorsport. Essentially it is a relatively minor matter of an anomaly in the regulations. This sort of thing does happen, whether regulations are domestic or EU. Anyone who thinks the EU is worse at drafting regulation might care to revise the rights of way regulation in England + Wales - it is properly abysmal.

The EU is addressing the matter with a view to amending the regulations to exempt motorsport etc - no big deal. It is apparent that many TRF members enjoy participating and spectating EU motorsport and I can't envisage that the French etc would like to see their enduros and suchlike compromised by VNUK. Assuming that all or some of the UK does come out of the EU, it is in motorcyclists interests to ensure that EU motorsport thrives. Efforts should be directed to the EU and not just the UK govt.

Bizarrely, the VNUK case is much less of a threat to UK motorsport than our domestic regulation (e.g. s.33 authorisation) which has nothing to do with the EU and is a problem that is entirely of English (nb not Welsh/Scottish) making. NERC is another example as motorsport relies on permission from the landowner to use restricted byways - in many cases it is exceptionally difficult to establish who owns a restricted byway.

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John Vannuffel

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 Post subject: Re: ACU newsletter - Potential threat to all UK motorsport
PostPosted: Wed Feb 01, 2017 10:57 pm 
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While suspecting that John is probably right and it's mostly a storm in a teacup and the EU rule writers will be re-writing already - and DfT is probably right that the lawyers interpreted the rules in a way completely different to the intention of the rule writers, my suspicion is that there will be some highly detrimental fallout whatever the outcome. E.g. motorsport might be exempted but we would still have to insure all our SORNed bikes, which could be very expensive for some and might make running a museum impossible. Hill farmers might be forced into organising an annual quad race so that they can avoid insuring their quads but then end up crippled in uninsured quad racing accidents. The DfT policy seems to be extremely passive, merely offering a few potential responses to whatever the Eurocrats come up with rather than actively seeking to influence the outcome. Maybe they are just paying lip-service in the expectation that it won't affect us because Brexit will intervene. John is spot on there, it will affect all of Europe, and it will still affect us whether in or out, even if it's just that the SE of England is overrun by EU owned ex-pat motorsport companies and Donnington finds itself running the Italian GP!

At the moment the choice seems to be to stick your head in the sand and hope everything will be OK, sign the petition at http://www.fightvnuk.co.uk/ and at least indicate to the DfT/UK Govt that there is a level of concern, misguided or not, or start some sort of action direct into MPs, DfT or even the EU. Provided there's a bit of evidence that someone has done a bit of research and come up with a sensible plan and given a bit of reasoning then Denise and I are up for whatever the directors recommend!


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