Motor Implications of parking car on road, no insurance

The fact that you may be held responsible does not mean that insurance is compulsory.

I have been told definitively by a guard that there is no offence being committed in the situation described by the OP.

I have in the past been given incorrect information about the law by members of the Gardai, so unless you know the Guard in question, I would not take this as definite proof that this is the law.
 
Isn't insurance is all about the ''what ifs'' which occur despite the best intentions of the owner of the vehicle?

What if the handbrake fails and the car moves ?
What if the car has an electrical/engine fault and goes on fire ?
Who is responsible for clearing up and paying for the mess in such a scenario if someone gets hurt ? Is it the owners responsibility or is it seen as just an act of God ?
Maybe a parked car which is'nt ever driven but instead is towed to (or removed from) a public parking spot by a pickup truck can obtain a different type of insurance or requires such. Why not ask the Gardai ?

Thats entirely different to the situation we are talking about.

In all those case the car is doing something. But we are talking about a situation where the car or driver does nothing. Its legally parked etc. Someone else does something. In which case the insurance on the driver of the car, is not liable.

However thats not the issue. This issue is does a parked car have to be insured by law. A driver is required to have insurance to drive. But does a car require insurnace in law if parked is not the same thing.

Personally I'd not trust the word of anyone that can't quote the law that states this is required.
 
You definitely need insurance...that you are driving it or not. From the moment it is on the street, you do need proper insurance. By the way: how would it get on the street in the first place without being driven from somewhere??
 
You definitely need insurance...that you are driving it or not. From the moment it is on the street, you do need proper insurance. By the way: how would it get on the street in the first place without being driven from somewhere??

Again there is no point stating this off the top of your head just because you think its true, have you anything to back it up? You will see I rang the guards and they have indicated the opposite, so I would probably side with them.

By the way: how would it get on the street in the first place without being driven from somewhere??

See page one of thread...
 
Username123, if this is going to be a long term arrangement, problems will occur if you go to renew the road tax on it, without a valid insurance cert.

Personally I don't believe you need insurance just to leave it parked, FWIW.
 
Username123, if this is going to be a long term arrangement, problems will occur if you go to renew the road tax on it, without a valid insurance cert.

I think that's the only catch that I can make out. If it's on the road it will need taxing (AFAIK), but to get tax it needs a valid insurance certificate.
 
No its only a temporary thing as bought new car but only have space for one in apartment block. Its taxed until June. Will be switching insurance back onto old one at wkend to drive move it to bring it to person I sold it to...
 
The road traffic act states that a vehicle cannot be operated in public place with out insurance. Therefore you can get done for having no insurance on your car whilst its on the street!
 
The road traffic act states that a vehicle cannot be operated in public place with out insurance. Therefore you can get done for having no insurance on your car whilst its on the street!


Its not being operated. Its just parked.
 
The road traffic act states that a vehicle cannot be operated in public place with out insurance. Therefore you can get done for having no insurance on your car whilst its on the street!


By that logic you could be done for operating a vehicle while drunk because you car was parked on the street while you were in the pub.
 
Every one of those could also apply to your wheelie bin.

I presume you don't put that on the street without insurance ?

A wheelie bin is not a mechanically propelled vehicle.

That's the slight difference between a motor car and a tall piece of square plastic for holding rubbish.
 
As with public liability as part of house insurance I reckon a parked vehicle would need to have some insurance on it in case in rolled, handbrake failed etc.

Only way to be sure is send it to private storage.
 
What an entertaining thread!! Motor insurance is not my thing. However, is it not a case that motor insurance is two fold, covering for damage to the vehicle and separately for third party public liability arising out of negligence of the insured driver in failing to control the motor vehicle?( as distinct from a liability arising out of the ownership of a vehicle). I suppose if i parked up and oil started leaking after a period of time ,say,due to rust, i may well be liable in a personal capacity for the clean up cost, but i suspect that would not be covered by my motor insurance policy.

If i park my car and fail to properly engage the handbrake and this car then rolls away and hits somebody, then i would think that clearly i am negligent and the PL part of my policy will operate. How, as other posters suggested can i be negligent in the event that somebody walks into my car or crashes into my car, if it has been properly and safely parked?I cant have a liability for other peoples negligence. If i park in the middle of the road, then of course i may have a case to answer.

On the basis that it is the legal liability of the person in control of the motor vehicle that is insured, i cant see why the owner of a parked up vehicle must have liability insurance in place for his negligence in failing to control that vehicle. As soon as he/she gets in and starts and moves the car, then legally they must have cover in place, but not until that time.

Like i say, motor insurance is not my thing, but i would like to hear a definitive answer. ( like other posters, i wouldnt necessarily believe what a Garda tell me and im about to run outside and bring the green wheelie bin in!!!!!)
 
would you really want the hassle of having no insurance on a parked car on the road if its involved in some sort of an accident... get rid / move / get insurance if you can afford it, or sell the car..

See previous post:
No its only a temporary thing as bought new car but only have space for one in apartment block. Its taxed until June. Will be switching insurance back onto old one at wkend to drive move it to bring it to person I sold it to...
 
All vehicles must have insurance, unless they are parked off road, i.e. private property. If the gardai see it parked on the road without an insurance disc, they'll probably issue you a fine.

I was about to say that, it might not be just a fine, you could quite possibly be facing a conviction for having it on a public road without insurance. Plus if there is anything else wrong, they will almost certainly throw the book at you for that also.

The biggest danger though, is that anybody seeing an uninsured car in the same parking space with probably assume that it has been dumped or abandoned and there is a possibility it could be towed away as an abandoned vehicle. I know there is a car parked outside my place for almost 2 months without moving it, at the moment and somebody stuck a sign on it on Sunday saying if it wasn't moved within two week the council would tow it. Not sure about the validity of this, but we do have an ex councillor living on the street who may well have the ability to get this engineered.
 
I know there is a car parked outside my place for almost 2 months without moving it, at the moment and somebody stuck a sign on it on Sunday saying if it wasn't moved within two week the council would tow it. Not sure about the validity of this, but we do have an ex councillor living on the street who may well have the ability to get this engineered.


Anyone, not only an ex-councillor can contact the local authority to make a complaint about an abandoned car. The council will contact the registered owner of the car, and if they get no response, will tow the car.
 
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