Untraced drivers

Byrne v Motor Insurance Bureau [2008] EWCA Civ 574; SJ 3 June

The claimant was injured in an accident involving an untraced driver in June 1993, when he was three years old, but it was not until 2001 that his parents applied to the MIB for compensation under the Untraced Drivers Agreement 1972. The MIB rejected the application on the grounds that the agreement provided that claims must be brought within three years of an accident. It was contended on behalf of the claimant that the MIB’s rejection was unlawful under the EU’s Second Motor Insurance Directive, which requires EU member states to put in place a system ensuring compensation for victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. Because the MIB’s Uninsured Drivers Agreement does not contain a similar provision on limitation. It was argued that the refusal to consider the claim amounted to less favourable treatment under the directive and was a breach of the EU principle of equivalence. The case was brought against the MIB and the Secretary of State on the grounds that Britain had failed to implement the directive properly.