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Land Transport Act 1998

Enforcement of responsibilities - Powers of entry, arrest, immobilisation, and impoundment

120: Arrest of persons for alcohol or drug-related offences, or assault on enforcement officer

You could also call this:

“Police can arrest you for driving drunk or on drugs, or hurting a police officer”

You should know about the rules for arresting people for alcohol or drug-related offences, or for assaulting an enforcement officer. An enforcement officer can arrest you without a warrant if they think you’ve broken certain laws about driving while drunk or on drugs, or if you’ve attacked them or another officer while they’re doing their job.

If you don’t do a required impairment test properly when an officer asks you to, they can also arrest you without a warrant. The officer needs to be trained to give this test.

Someone helping an enforcement officer can also arrest you if you’ve attacked an officer. If someone who isn’t a police officer arrests you, they need to hand you over to a police officer as soon as they can. But first, they can finish using any powers they have under this law.

These arrest powers are on top of any other arrest powers in this law. They’re meant to help keep everyone safe on the roads and protect the officers who enforce the rules.

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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=DLM435115.

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121: Enforcement officer may immobilise vehicle, etc, in specified circumstances, or

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Part 9 Enforcement of responsibilities
Powers of entry, arrest, immobilisation, and impoundment

120Arrest of persons for alcohol or drug-related offences, or assault on enforcement officer

  1. An enforcement officer may arrest a person without warrant if the officer has good cause to suspect that the person—

  2. has committed an offence against any of sections 58 to 62; or
    1. has assaulted that or any other enforcement officer while the officer was acting in the course of the officer's official duties.

      1. An enforcement officer may arrest a person without warrant if the person does not complete a compulsory impairment test in a manner satisfactory to an enforcement officer, who is trained to give the test, when required to do so by an enforcement officer under section 71F.

      2. A person assisting an enforcement officer may arrest without warrant a person referred to in subsection (1)(b).

      3. A person other than a constable who exercises any power of arrest conferred by this section must, as soon as practicable, deliver the arrested person into the custody of a constable.

      4. The obligation in subsection (3) does not apply until the completion of the exercise of any powers that may be exercised under this Act in respect of the arrested person or any vehicle driven by that person.

      5. The powers conferred by this section are in addition to any other powers of arrest under this Act.

      Compare
      Notes
      • Section 120(1A): inserted, on , by section 22 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
      • Section 120(1A): amended, on , by section 34 of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).
      • Section 120(3): amended, on , pursuant to section 116(a)(vii) of the Policing Act 2008 (2008 No 72).