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Land Transport Act 1998

Offences relating to driving (other than alcohol- and drug-related offences) and penalties - Offences relating to driving (other than offences involving alcohol or drugs)

36: Contravention of section 7 or section 22 involving injury

You could also call this:

“Breaking driving rules and causing injury”

You commit an offence if you do any of these things:

You drive a vehicle recklessly and hurt someone else.

You drive a vehicle in a way that might be dangerous to others and hurt someone else.

You don’t stop to check if anyone is hurt after an accident where someone has been injured or killed, and you don’t help them.

If you’re found guilty of doing any of these things, you could go to jail for up to 5 years or be fined up to $20,000. You’ll also lose your driver’s licence for at least 1 year.

Sometimes, if you’ve done one of these things and also committed an alcohol-related driving offence, you might have to use an alcohol interlock device in your car.

In some special cases, the court might decide not to take away your licence, but this doesn’t happen often.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM434651.

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35: Contravention of section 7, or section 22 where no injury or death involved, or

"Penalties for dangerous driving or leaving an accident scene without injuries"

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36AA: Contravention of section 7 by causing death of another person, or

"Causing someone's death by driving dangerously"

Part 5 Offences relating to driving (other than alcohol- and drug-related offences) and penalties
Offences relating to driving (other than offences involving alcohol or drugs)

36Contravention of section 7 or section 22 involving injury

  1. A person commits an offence if the person—

  2. drives or causes to be driven a motor vehicle recklessly and by that act or omission causes an injury to another person; or
    1. drives or causes a motor vehicle to be driven at a speed or in a manner which, having regard to all the circumstances, is or might be dangerous to the public or to a person and by that act or omission causes an injury to another person; or
      1. without reasonable excuse, contravenes section 22 by failing to stop and ascertain whether any person has been injured, and render assistance, after an accident where a person has been injured or killed.

        1. If a person is convicted of an offence against subsection (1),—

        2. the maximum penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding $20,000; and
          1. the court must order the person to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence for 1 year or more.

            1. If an offence against subsection (1) is a concurrent offence in relation to a qualifying offence for an alcohol interlock sentence, then the mandatory disqualification in subsection (2)(b) is the period of disqualification for the purposes of section 65AE(d) (see section 65AH(3)(a)).

            2. The imposition of a mandatory disqualification under this section is subject to section 81 (which allows a court not to order disqualification for special reasons relating to the offence).

            Compare
            Notes
            • Section 36 heading: amended, on , by section 19(1) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
            • Section 36(1): substituted, on , by section 23 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 77).
            • Section 36(1): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
            • Section 36(1)(a): amended, on , by section 19(2) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
            • Section 36(1)(b): amended, on , by section 19(3) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
            • Section 36(2A): inserted, on , by section 9(1) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 34).
            • Section 36(3): replaced, on , by section 9(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 34).