Will the driver of a
vehicle become its passenger during a journey where another passenger assumes
control of that vehicle? Perhaps surprisingly, given it is the legislative
instrument which regulates the compulsory insurance and civil liability of
motor vehicle use across the European Union (EU), the Motor Vehicle Insurance
Directive (MVID) 2009/103/EC does not define who is the driver of a vehicle.
The legislation and its case law typically refers to the ‘use of a vehicle’,
rather than its driver. In this paper, we offer the first assessment of this
situation and conclude that whilst this is a largely factual and procedural
assessment for the national courts of the EU given the lack of case law and
instruction through the MVID, English domestic law may provide the very insight
to assist the Court of Justice, pertinent due to a recent preliminary
reference, on how it may answer this question.