As of June 7, 2012, Industrial utility vehicles, miniature motor vehicles and golf course-owned beverage carts are no longer required to be registered, licensed and insured by the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia (ICBC), under amendments to British Columbia, Canada’s Motor Vehicle Act and its regulations in force today. These changes are expected to benefit businesses and charitable organizations across the province by reducing insurance fees and duplication.

Of particular interest to the Canadian Rental Association (CRA), industrial utility vehicles — including utility vehicles, industrial vehicles and the trailers towed by these vehicles — are no longer required to be registered, licensed or insured by ICBC under certain circumstances. All exempted vehicles, including industrial utility vehicles are required to have private third party liability insurance.

“These changes are great news to our rental members and to the construction industry in general. They will save businesses thousands of dollars in insurance fees and extra administration,” said Jim Clipperton, past president of CRA's British Columbia chapter and owner of Nor-Val Rentals in Armstrong, British Columbia, 

The new changes to the Motor Vehicle Act in British Columbia:

• Exempt industrial utility vehicles (IUVs) used and operated in certain circumstances (incidental use of highway only) from having to be registered, licensed and insured by ICBC.
• Clarify restrictions and conditions of operation, which will ensure that “exempted” vehicles operating on a highway continue to do so in a safe manner.
• Prescribe “beverage carts” for golf courses and “miniature motor vehicles” used only in parades and exempt them from requirements to be registered, licensed and insured with ICBC.
• Add a requirement for exempted vehicles to have private third-party liability insurance.
• Add conditions of use and safety requirements for “mobile equipment”.

The circumstances that apply to IUV’s — which include utility vehicles, industrial vehicles and the trailers towed by these vehicles — include:

• Crossing a highway that intersects a worksite.
• Operating on the untraveled portion of a highway.
• Travelling on a highway next to a worksite for loading and unloading the IUV.
• Operating at a worksite that is cordoned off.
• Performing work in a parking lot or driveway by or on behalf of the property owner or operator.

Operation of a utility vehicle along a highway with traffic continues to require registration, licensing and ICBC insurance.

All exempted industrial utility vehicles, miniature vehicles and beverage carts are required to have third-party liability insurance, which can be obtained in the private market. In June 2011, similar exemptions came into force for golf carts and mobile equipment like person lifts and powered wheelbarrows.