Motor insurance: the meaning of “use”

The Road Traffic Act 1988, implementing EU law, requires insurance to be in place in respect of liability caused by or arising out of the “use” of a motor vehicle. Recent English cases have given “use” an expansive meaning. The Court of Justice of the European Communities in Rodrigues de Andrade and Another v Salvador and Others Case C-514/16 appears to have adopted a narrower approach, although it may be that the judgment can be confined to the specific question of a vehicle being used not for transportation but rather as a source of power for electrical equipment.

The legal background