Can you legally park a boat outside your house??

lesalanos

billtrac wrote: »

course it's legal

regards

noah

:d:):):):)

darich

raskazz wrote: »

Why would a boat on a trailer require insurance as per the Road Traffic Act?

According to Road Traffic Act a trailer is a vehicle.
What would happen if it rolled down the hill into another vehicle/house/person? Who would pay the repair bill?
What would you do if your house was at the bottom of the hill with the trailer in the living room? Wouldn't you expect it to be insured since it's sitting on the public road?

Does the trailer have reflectors that are required by law?

Does it have a number plate attached to it? If not, then it simply becomes an obstruction since it cannot be referenced in any way.

sebdangerfield

darich wrote: »

According to Road Traffic Act a trailer is a vehicle.
What would happen if it rolled down the hill into another vehicle/house/person? Who would pay the repair bill?
What would you do if your house was at the bottom of the hill with the trailer in the living room? Wouldn't you expect it to be insured since it's sitting on the public road?

Does the trailer have reflectors that are required by law?

Does it have a number plate attached to it? If not, then it simply becomes an obstruction since it cannot be referenced in any way.

raskazz wrote: »

Why would a boat on a trailer require insurance as per the Road Traffic Act?

You're right. But the RTA 1988 also states a chicken shed on wheels can be a vehicle (see Garner vs Burr 1951 1 KB 31) A vehicle is not fully defined by the RTA 1988 and it would appear that almost anything in the right circumstances can be a vehicle. That doesn't mean chicken sheds need insurance though does it?

The RTA goes on to define those vehicles requiring insurance as motor vehicles. In turn, motor vehicles are defined as mechanically propelled vehicles intended or adapted for use on a road. Boats and chicken sheds aren't motor vehicles as they aren't intended or adapted for use on a road and so don't need insurance.

Gloomendoom

Gloomendoom wrote: »

You are not supposed to park an unhitched trailer on a public road...



highways.gov.uk

Further to my original post, I found this.Linky

It seems there is some confusion.

cyclonebri1

There is an insurance issue to consider though. It's like the situation for caravaners.

If you tow a caravan and jacknife swiping a car coming the oppoosite way, you are covered by the car insurance.

Should the coupling give way and the caravan trailer etc continue on it's way and hit another vehicle etc, then the car insurance doesn't cover it, it needs to be insured in it's own right.

I supose the relevance of that is that if someone was to release the boat trailer or it simply rolled away, he would be in the messy stuff.

sebdangerfield

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

There is an insurance issue to consider though. It's like the situation for caravaners.

If you tow a caravan and jacknife swiping a car coming the oppoosite way, you are covered by the car insurance.

Should the coupling give way and the caravan trailer etc continue on it's way and hit another vehicle etc, then the car insurance doesn't cover it, it needs to be insured in it's own right.

I supose the relevance of that is that if someone was to release the boat trailer or it simply rolled away, he would be in the messy stuff.

In the situation quoted above, where the caravan were to become uncoupled from the vehicle folowing a jacknife the insurance would still be in place from the original towing vehicle. In a similar way if an item of your car, say a wing mirror were to come off and damage an oncoming car. For the purposes of insurance under the RTA the towed vehicle is still part of the towing vehicle and is therefore treated as one.

As I said in my earlier post,

The RTA goes on to define those vehicles requiring insurance as motor vehicles. In turn, motor vehicles are defined as mechanically propelled vehicles intended or adapted for use on a road. Boats and chicken sheds aren't motor vehicles as they aren't intended or adapted for use on a road and so don't need insurance. Yesterday 11:09 PM

A caravan or boat can never be a motor vehicle and will therfore never need seperate insurance.

It is possible to get seperate cover for caravans when they're being stored or used as a dwelling but this not required by the RTA, mearly a similar product to normal house insurance.

Strider590

So.. um.... what's stopping the trailer just rolling away?

cyclonebri1

sebdangerfield wrote: »

In the situation quoted above, where the caravan were to become uncoupled from the vehicle folowing a jacknife the insurance would still be in place from the original towing vehicle. .

Really, different to what I was always lead to believe in my caravaning days, but I bow to your greater knowledge of the law.

But what then would the situation be if an uninsured and unhitched trailer/caravan "rolled" of down the road and demolished the bus shelter, parked cars etc??

Edited to add I just googled "do i have to insure a caravan" and this came up from practical caravan;

DO I HAVE TO INSURE MY VAN?
There is no legal requirement to insure your caravan against damage or theft. But the law says you must insure yourself against third-party liability when you tow your van on public roads. Most car insurance policies include this provision. Even so, tell your insurer that you intend to tow a caravan and obtain written proof of third-party liability cover.

Is that in line with your interpretation Seb?

System

sebdangerfield wrote: »

A caravan or boat can never be a motor vehicle and will therfore never need seperate insurance.

It is possible to get seperate cover for caravans when they're being stored or used as a dwelling but this not required by the RTA, mearly a similar product to normal house insurance.

The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 1987 amends RTA para 145 (Requirements in respect of policies of insurance) to include trailers.

jimbms

If you live in York or Barnsley I would say a boat outside your house is a necessity :rotfl: