Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Land Transport Act 1998

Proceedings enforcing responsibilities

133: Owner liability for moving vehicle offences and special vehicle lane offences

You could also call this:

“Vehicle owners can be responsible for traffic offences even if they weren't driving”

This section explains who can be held responsible for moving vehicle offences and special vehicle lane offences. You can be held responsible if:

  1. You were the person who committed the offence.
  2. You were registered as the owner of the vehicle when the offence happened.
  3. You had the right to use the vehicle when the offence happened, even if you weren’t driving it.

If you’re accused of an offence but weren’t driving, the law assumes you were the driver unless you can prove otherwise. You can defend yourself by showing that:

  1. Someone else has already been made to pay for the offence.
  2. You didn’t have the right to use the vehicle when the offence happened.
  3. Someone else was driving, and you told the authorities about it as soon as you found out about the offence.

If you say someone else was driving, you need to give the authorities a formal statement with the driver’s details or explain why you can’t identify the driver. This statement can be used as evidence in court.

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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=DLM435145.

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"Officers can check and test dangerous goods to make sure they're safe"

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"Owner can be held responsible for parking offences, but has ways to defend themselves"

Part 10 Proceedings enforcing responsibilities

133Owner liability for moving vehicle offences and special vehicle lane offences

  1. Proceedings for a moving vehicle offence or a special vehicle lane offence may be taken against any 1 or more of the following persons:

  2. the person who allegedly committed the offence:
    1. the person who, at the time of the alleged offence, was registered under Part 17 in respect of the vehicle involved in the offence (or, if the offence is alleged to have been committed before the commencement of section 242, a person who, at the time of the alleged offence, was registered as the owner, or one of the owners, of that vehicle in a register kept under section 18 of the Transport (Vehicle and Driver Registration and Licensing) Act 1986):
      1. a person who, at the time of the alleged offence, was lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle involved in the offence (whether jointly with any other person or not);—
          1. whether or not (in the case of a person referred to in paragraph (b) or paragraph (c)) the person is an individual or was the driver or person in charge of the vehicle at the time the alleged offence was committed.

        1. In proceedings taken against a person under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (1), in the absence of proof to the contrary, it must be presumed that—

        2. the defendant was the driver or person in charge of the vehicle at the time of the alleged offence (whether or not the person is an individual); and
          1. the acts or omissions of the driver or person in charge of the vehicle at that time were the acts or omissions of the defendant.

            1. It is a defence to proceedings against a person for a moving vehicle offence or a special vehicle lane offence if another person has, by virtue of an order under the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 or the Summary Proceedings Act 1957, become liable to pay a fine or costs, or both, in respect of the offence.

            2. It is a defence to proceedings against a person under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (1) if,—

            3. at the time the alleged offence was committed,—
              1. the person was not lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle (either jointly with any other person or severally); or
                1. another person was driving the vehicle; and
                2. immediately after becoming aware of the alleged offence, the person advised the enforcement authority in writing that, at the time the offence was committed, they were not lawfully entitled to possession of the vehicle or another person was driving the vehicle (as the case may be); and
                  1. the person has given the enforcement authority a statutory declaration—
                    1. identifying the driver, by giving—
                      1. the full name and full address of the driver; and
                        1. any other identifying particulars, so far as they are within the person’s knowledge, such as the driver’s date of birth, occupation, telephone number, or electronic address; or
                        2. establishing that the person could not identify the driver, after taking all reasonable steps to do so.

                        3. In proceedings for a moving vehicle offence or a special vehicle lane offence, a statutory declaration given under subsection (4) is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, sufficient evidence of the matters stated in the declaration; and it is admissible for all purposes of any proceedings under this section.

                        Notes
                        • Section 133 heading: amended, on , by section 72(1) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 133(1): amended, on , by section 72(2) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 133(1)(b): substituted, on , by section 35(1) of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 (2009 No 17).
                        • Section 133(2): amended, on , by section 72(3) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 133(2)(a): amended, on , by section 72(4) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 133(3): amended, on , by section 413 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 (2011 No 81).
                        • Section 133(3): amended, on , by section 72(5) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).
                        • Section 133(4)(b): amended, on , by section 23(1) of the Land Transport (Road Safety) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 62).
                        • Section 133(4)(c)(i): replaced, on , by section 13 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 31).
                        • Section 133(4)(c)(i)(B): amended, on , by section 23(2) of the Land Transport (Road Safety) Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 62).
                        • Section 133(5): amended, on , by section 72(6) of the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 13).