Sorn/technically insured? Help please!

Thanks for all the info, much appreciated!

[aesmith]

You could check your registration on "Ask MID", see if it comes up as insured.

http://ownvehicle.askmid.com/

cheers mate, will do that now and double check! thanks for the link

btw, it is classed as insured under the fire and theft policy, thanks aesmith!

[TamSV]

Just to clarify, Fire & Theft Only isn't sufficient. It's only the Third Party element that the regs are interested in. It shouldn't be on the MID, but it might be because;

- your insurers have made a mistake
- the previous owner hasn't cancelled his insurance yet
- a dealer still has the bike listed against their policy

Any one of the above is as likely as the others.

Having said that, if it's on the MID then you're fine. If you're not going to SORN just check AskMID periodically to make sure the situation isn't corrected.

Cheers mate, I did go to the post office and explain the situation a few days ago and they said I should be fine but if I get a warning letter before may, then I will have an excuse at least and will just have to do it, but I will check regular, thanks!

[Juju]

Can I just also add a word of warning, that you have "laid up cover", but are Sorn'ing the vehicle.

Is the vehicle "genuinely" off the road. I don't mean in terms of you using it, but you'd be surprised how wide the definition of "on the road" actually is, and the legal definition of a road for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act.

Is the vehicle somewhere the public have access to. It doesn't matter if the land is private if the public have access. For example, the block of flats I live in, has a private car park. But its a car park a member of the public as either a pedestrian, cyclist, or driver can access, for example another driver, visiting, could drive into from a public carrigeway drive through to park and use a visitor space. So despite it being a private car park, if I were uninsured as the bike was parked up, I would probably end up with an IN10.

Its not if its private or public, which is why car parks and the like are subject to the Road Traffic Act, but the test is whether it is a road or space a member of the public might reasonably have access. So a beach is say, not covered, because you wouldn't expect to have access to a beach in a motor vehicle, but a launching splipway would be. Car parks are clearly "roads" despite most of them all being in private hands. A shared driveway leading to houses would be a road, but a gated off driveway to a sole residence is not. In a garage is off road, but if you rolled it out the garage to clean it, (say in a shared block) then you'd be "on the road".

Just be careful, thats all I'm saying.

Originally Posted by Juju

the test is whether it is a road or space a member of the public might reasonably have access. So a beach is say, not covered, because you wouldn't expect to have access to a beach in a motor vehicle, but a launching splipway would be. Car parks are clearly "roads" despite most of them all being in private hands. A shared driveway leading to houses would be a road, but a gated off driveway to a sole residence is not. In a garage is off road, but if you rolled it out the garage to clean it, (say in a shared block) then you'd be "on the road"

Very interesting, thanks for sharing that info. Would you mind having a look at the below shared driveway for me?

This first image shows land ownership, and I don't know if that's relevant, but it is private land. There is no public right of way. Might the public reasonably have access? Well it's not gated and there's nothing stopping them coming up that shared driveway, but they would be trespassing and would have no reason to do so, other than the reasons that would affect any property with a private sole use ungated driveway (there's nothing stopping a member of the public driving or walking on those either, but they would be trespassing), couriers, postman, meter readers, etc, or to visit the people living in those three houses.



This second picture shows

In red an area designated as shared access
In yellow two private driveways which are gated (definitely not "roads")
In blue a private driveway which is not gated
In green a shared garage block area



You've said the green area would be classed as a road, ie: need tax as soon as they roll out of the garage.

What about the red 'shared access' area? You've said that these are treated as roads, but that the test is public reasonably having access. The public don't have access to this one IMO. That said visitors driving up to park in the yellow area are members of public too.

What about the blue driveway accessing a single garage? Would that be a "road"? His driveway is not gated off from the red area. Because it's just one driveway is he different from the guys whose garages are in the green area?

[TamSV]

I think the definition of a road differs between the VED regs and the insurance requirements of the Road Traffic Act.

I'm sure it used to be that Road Tax was required only if you were on a publicly maintained road.

You'll only get points on your licence if you drive without insurance. The new offence of keeping an uninsured vehicle brought in with the CIE rules doesn't result in points.

So if for instance my wife or neighbours who do not have licenses would like to have a little go on my motorbike, could they legally do it on that shared access area?