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Land Transport Act 1998

Driving offences involving drink or drugs, and penalties and procedures - Enforcement procedures involving taking of blood specimens

72: Who must give blood specimen at places other than hospital or medical centre

You could also call this:

“Rules for giving blood samples when police ask outside of hospitals”

You must let a health practitioner or medical officer take a blood sample from you if a police officer tells you to in certain situations. These situations include:

  • If you don’t do a breath test when asked
  • If you do a breath test and it’s positive, and you ask for a blood test within 10 minutes
  • If there’s no breath testing device available where you are
  • If the police officer thinks you’ve committed a drink or drug driving offence and a health practitioner thinks you might be under the influence
  • If you don’t do an oral fluid (saliva) test when asked
  • If you do two oral fluid tests and the second one is positive, and you ask for a blood test within 10 minutes
  • If you’ve done two oral fluid tests and gone to a place to do a blood test
  • If you don’t complete a compulsory impairment test properly

You have to go with the police officer to a place where a health practitioner or medical officer can take the blood sample if it can’t be done where you are.

If the first blood sample isn’t enough, you have to let them take another one right away.

The police can arrest you if you don’t go with them to get the blood test done, or if you don’t stay there to let the health practitioner or medical officer take the sample.

The police officer must tell you that you might have to pay for the blood test and medical costs, even if the test shows you haven’t broken the law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM434833.

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"Rules for taking blood samples in hospitals after car accidents"

Part 6 Driving offences involving drink or drugs, and penalties and procedures
Enforcement procedures involving taking of blood specimens

72Who must give blood specimen at places other than hospital or medical centre

  1. A person must permit a health practitioner or medical officer to take a blood specimen from the person when required to do so by an enforcement officer if—

  2. the person fails or refuses to undergo without delay an evidential breath test after having been required to do so by an enforcement officer under section 69; or
    1. the person has undergone an evidential breath test under section 69(4), and—
      1. it appears to the officer that the test is positive; and
        1. within 10 minutes of being advised by an enforcement officer of the matters specified in section 77(3)(a) (which sets out the conditions of the admissibility of the test), the person advises the officer that the person wishes to undergo a blood test; or
        2. an evidential breath testing device is not readily available at the place to which the person has accompanied an enforcement officer under section 69 (whether or not at the time the requirement was made it was likely that the person could undergo an evidential breath test at that place) or to which the person has been taken under arrest (as the case may be), or for any reason an evidential breath test cannot then be carried out at that place; or
          1. the officer has arrested the person under section 120(1) and has good cause to suspect that the person has committed an offence against any of sections 56 to 62, and either—
            1. a health practitioner has examined the person and believes that the person may be under the influence of drink or a drug, or both; or
              1. the person has refused to be examined by a health practitioner for the purposes of this paragraph; or
              2. the person fails or refuses to undergo without delay an oral fluid test after having been required to do so by an enforcement officer under any of sections 71A to 71C; or
                1. the person has undergone a second oral fluid test under section 71B and—
                  1. it appears to the officer that the test is positive; and
                    1. within 10 minutes of being advised by an enforcement officer of the matters specified in section 77A(3)(a) (which sets out the conditions of the admissibility of the test), the person advises the officer that the person wishes to undergo a blood test; or
                    2. the person has undergone 2 oral fluid tests under any of sections 71A to 71C and the person has accompanied an enforcement officer to a place where the person can undergo an evidential blood test under section 71E(1)(b) or (2); or
                      1. the person fails to complete a compulsory impairment test in a manner satisfactory to an enforcement officer who is trained to give the test when the person is required to do so by an enforcement officer under section 71F.

                        1. Subsection (1)(b) does not apply in the case of a person (other than a person who is apparently younger than 20 or who holds an alcohol interlock licence or a zero alcohol licence) if the result of the evidential breath test under section 69(4) indicates that the proportion of alcohol in the person's breath exceeds 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath but does not exceed 400 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

                        2. Subsection (1)(h) only applies if an enforcement officer has good cause to suspect that the person has consumed a drug or drugs.

                        3. Subsection (1)(h) applies regardless of whether the person has failed any breath screening tests under section 68, evidential breath tests under section 69, or oral fluid tests under any of sections 71A to 71C and regardless of the outcome of any such tests.

                        4. An enforcement officer may exercise the powers in subsections (1) and (2) in addition to any breath screening tests under section 68, evidential breath tests under section 69, or oral fluid tests under any of sections 71A to 71C.

                        5. An enforcement officer who advises a person of the matters specified in section 77(3)(a) (which sets out the conditions of the admissibility of an evidential breath test) must also, without delay, advise the person that if the person elects to have a blood test the person may be liable to pay a blood test fee and associated medical costs, whether or not the result of that blood test establishes that the person has committed an offence against this Act.

                        6. An enforcement officer who requires a person to permit the taking of a blood specimen under subsection (1)(c) or (d) must advise the person that the person may be liable to pay a blood test fee and associated medical costs, whether or not the result of the blood test establishes that the person has committed an offence against this Act.

                        7. An enforcement officer who requires a person to permit the taking of a blood specimen under subsection (1)(e), (f), (g), or (h) must advise the person, without delay, that the person may be liable to pay a blood test fee and associated medical costs if the result of the blood test establishes that the person has committed an offence against section 57A(1), 57B(1), or 57C(1) or an infringement offence against section 57A(2), 57B(2), or 57C(2).

                        8. A person who has been required by an enforcement officer under subsection (1) to permit the taking of a blood specimen must, without delay after being requested to do so by a health practitioner or medical officer, permit that practitioner or medical officer to take a blood specimen from that person.

                        9. If it is not practicable for a blood specimen to be taken from a person by a health practitioner or medical officer at a place where the person has been required under this section to permit the taking of a blood specimen, the person must accompany an enforcement officer to any other place where it is likely that a blood specimen can be taken from the person by a health practitioner or medical officer if the officer requires the person to do so.

                        10. If a blood specimen taken under this section is insufficient for the purposes of the relevant blood specimen collecting procedure,—

                        11. the person from whom the specimen was taken must permit a health practitioner or medical officer to take a further blood specimen immediately after being requested to do so by the health practitioner or medical officer; and
                          1. a further blood specimen so taken is to be treated as part of the original blood specimen taken from the person.

                            1. An enforcement officer may arrest a person without warrant if the person—

                            2. fails or refuses to accompany an enforcement officer to a place when required to do so under this section; or
                              1. having accompanied an enforcement officer to a place under this section, fails or refuses to remain at that place until requested by a health practitioner or medical officer to permit a blood specimen to be taken under this section.

                                Compare
                                Notes
                                • Section 72 heading: amended, on , by section 11(1) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(1): amended, on , by section 11(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(1): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(1)(b): amended, on , by section 7 of the Land Transport (Road Safety Enforcement) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 104).
                                • Section 72(1)(d)(i): amended, on , by section 11(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(1)(d)(i): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(1)(d)(ii): amended, on , by section 11(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(1)(d)(ii): amended, on , by section 16(1) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                                • Section 72(1)(d)(ii): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(1)(e): replaced, on , by section 22(1) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1)(f): inserted, on , by section 22(1) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1)(g): inserted, on , by section 22(1) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1)(h): inserted, on , by section 22(1) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1AA): inserted, on , by section 11(1) of the Land Transport Amendment Act (No 2) 2014 (2014 No 57).
                                • Section 72(1A): inserted, on , by section 16(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                                • Section 72(1A): amended, on , by section 22(2) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1B): inserted, on , by section 16(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                                • Section 72(1B): amended, on , by section 22(2) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1B): amended, on , by section 22(3) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1C): inserted, on , by section 16(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                                • Section 72(1C): amended, on , by section 22(3) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1D): inserted, on , by section 11(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act (No 2) 2014 (2014 No 57).
                                • Section 72(1E): inserted, on , by section 11(2) of the Land Transport Amendment Act (No 2) 2014 (2014 No 57).
                                • Section 72(1E): amended, on , by section 22(4) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(1F): inserted, on , by section 22(5) of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
                                • Section 72(2): amended, on , by section 11(3) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(2): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(3): amended, on , by section 11(4) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(3): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(4): amended, on , by section 33(1) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                                • Section 72(4)(a): amended, on , by section 11(5) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(4)(a): amended, on , by section 33(2) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                                • Section 72(4)(a): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).
                                • Section 72(5)(b): amended, on , by section 11(6) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 77).
                                • Section 72(5)(b): amended, on , by section 175(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (2003 No 48).