It’s not semantics. You are using that as an excuse.
FWIW. There are cases where I t is perfectly legal to drive a vehicle without VED. The following list are all VED exempt. Exempt means you don’t need it, in case you want to go down the semantic argument again.
- Vehicles used by a person living with a disability
- Disabled passenger vehicles used by organisations providing transport for people living with a disability.
- Mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs
- Vehicles made before 1 January 1981.
- Electric vehicles (the electricity must come from an external source or an electric storage battery not connected to any source of power when the vehicle is moving).
- Mowing machines (it must be designed, constructed and used just for cutting grass to be exempt.
- Steam powered vehicles.
- Vehicles used for agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
And of course human powered vehicles.