Believe it or not rumour has it there are those in the European Court peddling a law that as well as being utterly ridiculous, would be a major pain in the behind for home owners everywhere. What am I talking about? Vehicle insurance for lawn mowers that’s what.
If you think that sounds crazy then you’re not alone, but let’s take a minute to see just what those concocting this law have got in the way of an argument.
The origins of this law can be traced back to the early 1970s, and thankfully for many years it lay dormant, that is until last year when a Slovenian farm worker bought a case to the European Court having been knocked off a ladder by a passing tractor. Whilst this is clearly unfortunate it doesn’t seem to justify the subsequent decision that any motor vehicle, whether road worthy or not and whether used on private land or not, should have motor insurance.
Currently discussions are under way between the Association of British Insurers and the Department for Transport over the finer details of the proposal, but it could spell serious headaches for those who own anything from a ride on lawn mower to a powered golf buggy.
It’s not considered a bad move by everyone however, mobility scooters are prone to both accidents and theft, but are not currently required to have insurance. Considering the cost of this insurance would be relatively low (less than £100), and that it’s not unheard of for people to be financially ruined after being sued for negligence for an accident involving a mobility scooter, it might not be such a bad move to make insurance for these compulsory.
Still, the finer details aside, we could be left with yet another burdon on our wallets before long, but unfortunately until then we’ll be playing the waiting game. Get out there and enjoy some red tape free lawn mowing whilst you can!
Update 16/05/17 : Since the Brexit vote has now passed and the process for the UK leaving the EU is now underway, we can only assume this, along with many other pieces of EU legislation will be looked at again over the next few years. Hopefully this presents a good opportunity for rationalising such questionable legislation.
