MOTOR VEHICLE (THIRD PARTY INSURANCE) ACT 1943 - SECT 8
MOTOR VEHICLE (THIRD PARTY INSURANCE) ACT 1943 - SECT 8
8 . Special provisions in relation to uninsured motor vehicles
(1) Where —
(a)
judgment against the owner or driver of an uninsured motor vehicle has been
entered in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person directly
caused by, or by the driving of, that motor vehicle;
(b) such
death or bodily injury is one against liability in respect of which the
judgment debtor, had there been in force a contract of insurance under this
Act relating to such motor vehicle, would have been insured; and
(c) the
judgment debtor does not satisfy the judgment in full within one month after
the same has been entered —
the judgment creditor
may claim from the Commission payment of the amount (including costs) unpaid
in respect of the judgment or the amount to which the liability of the
Commission might have been limited had there been in force a contract of
insurance under this Act relating to such motor vehicle, whichever is the
smaller amount, and where the Commission fails to pay the amount the judgment
creditor may recover it in an action in a court of competent jurisdiction as a
debt due to him by the Commission.
(1A) Where execution
of a judgment referred to in subsection (1) is stayed pending appeal, the time
during which such execution is so stayed shall be excluded in calculating the
said period of one month.
(1B) When a judgment
referred to in subsection (1) was obtained within the State, that subsection
shall not apply unless, before the action on which such judgment was obtained
came on for hearing, the Commission knew that such action had been commenced.
[(2) deleted]
(3) The Commission may
recover from
(a) the
owner; or
(b) the
driver,
of the motor vehicle,
and if they are both liable from them jointly and severally, such sum as the
Commission has paid in settlement, payment or compromise of the claim of, or
any judgment obtained by, the judgment creditor against it.
(4) In an action under
subsection (3) —
(a) it
shall be a good defence in any action against the owner of such motor vehicle
if he establishes to the satisfaction of the court that —
(i)
the fact that the motor vehicle was an uninsured motor
vehicle was not due to his own fault; or
(ii)
at the time of the occurrence out of which such death or
bodily injury arose the driver was not driving the motor vehicle with the
consent or authority of the owner;
(b) in
any case where the owner of the motor vehicle is the judgment debtor as
aforesaid, no sum shall be so recoverable against the driver of the motor
vehicle unless judgment could have been obtained against the driver in respect
of the death or bodily injury aforesaid; and
(c) it
shall be a good defence in any action against the driver of such motor vehicle
if he establishes to the satisfaction of the court that at the time of the
occurrence out of which such death or bodily injury arose he was driving the
motor vehicle with the authority of the owner and that he had reasonable
grounds for believing, and did in fact believe, that the motor vehicle was a
motor vehicle in relation to which there was in force a contract or policy of
insurance under this Act.
(5) Where —
(a)
liability has been incurred by the owner or driver of any uninsured motor
vehicle in respect of the death of, or bodily injury to, any person directly
caused by, or by the driving of, that motor vehicle; and
(b) such
liability is one against which such owner or driver, had there been in force a
contract of insurance under this Act relating to such motor vehicle, would
have been insured; but
(c) such
owner or driver is dead or cannot after strict inquiry and search be found
any person who could
have obtained a judgment in respect of such death or bodily injury against
such owner or driver, if he were living or if he could be found, as the case
may be, may obtain judgment against the Commission for a sum equivalent to the
amount for which he could have obtained a judgment against the owner or
driver, or the amount to which the liability of the Commission might have been
limited had there been in force a contract of insurance under this Act
relating to such motor vehicle, whichever is the smaller amount.
(6) A person shall not
be entitled to recover under subsection (5) unless, as soon as practicable
after he knew that such owner or driver was dead or could not be found, he
gave to the Commission notice of intention to make a claim and a short
statement of the grounds thereof.
(7) For the purposes
of subsection (5), the inquiry and search made for such owner or driver may be
proved orally or by the affidavit of the person who made the inquiry and
search.
[Section 8 amended: No. 31 of 1948 s. 10; No. 36
of 1954 s. 4; No. 25 of 1959 s. 5; No. 72 of 1962 s. 8; No. 51 of 1986 s.
46(2); No. 107 of 1987 s. 14; No. 19 of 2010 s. 51.]
[ 8A. Deleted: No. 28 of 2003 s. 122(3).]
[ 9. Deleted: No. 31 of 1948 s. 11.]