For anyone who wants to read the consultation papers, but doesn't have access to a copy of Practical Classics, the information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultat ... k-judgmentThe paper has come about after a judgement in Slovakia involving a classic tractor being driven on private land. The suggestion that Practical Classics makes is that all vehicles should have third party cover, whether they are mobile, or not. It does seem ludicrous to demand third party cover for a static vehicle being restored, but having read through the paper I cannot see anywhere that suggests this.
The paper repeatedly uses the phrase "users of vehicles on private land". In other words this is aimed at vehicles that may not be taxed and tested, but are mobile and being driven off the public roads. That obviously covers car being used on race tracks and at shows.
However, I disagree with Practical Classics that this proposal could bring an end to budget and classic motorsport. The largest expense in club level motor racing is the entrance fee and the largest part of that is made up of the indemnity insurance. That is not to cover you as a driver, or your car against accident damage, but to cover the circuit against third party claims. In other words when you are taking part in an MSA event, third party cover is already in place. If a wheel comes off your car and injures, or kills, a spectator, then the circuit is liable. That is because the spectator has bought a ticket from the circuit and the circuit assumes responsibility. It has been suggested many times that it would work out cheaper for club races not to allow in the public and that the only people present should be the drivers and their supporters, all of whom will have signed the indemnity waivers.
I don't know the position for banger racing and grass track events. Perhaps they may need to exclude spectators in the future. The same may go for track days, as even cars that are fully taxed and insured for the road are generally not covered on a race circuit.
The last question is should classic cars, or kit cars, be insured for shows? Many classic car and kit car policies already cover the cars and owners for shows, just take a look at your policy. But what would happen if you were walking around Stoneleigh and were run down by a car that had arrived on a trailer and the driver did not have any form of third party cover? Who would you seek compensation from? That was effectively what happened in the Slovakian case that prompted the paper.
In the case of shows, perhaps it should be for them to insist that anyone attending should have third party cover and to make it a condition of entry. The Bruntingthorpe test track insists on checking the public liabilty insurance of anybody who runs there, even when there is nobody else on the track. They have been doing that for some years now after somebody was injured by a car being tested.