New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Reckless driving causing death

Legal area

Court

28 Feb 2023

R v TALAKAI [2023] NZHC 331

Citation

[2023] NZHC 331
Court

High Court

Offender's culpability assessed as high due to use of vehicle as weapon, vulnerability of victim hit from behind, failure to stop and concealment; by analogy to R v Haufano set starting point at five years' imprisonment (reduced from six because offence charged under Land Transport Act with lower maximum than manslaughter); apply 20% guilty plea discount and 10% youth/remorse mitigation; deduct 10 months for time on electronically monitored bail; impose final sentence of two years and eight months' imprisonment and concurrent 18 months on failing-to-stop charge; disqualify from holding or obt…
2 Jul 2020

R v MARTIN [2020] NZHC 1542

Citation

[2020] NZHC 1542
Court

High Court

Momentary but dangerous error of judgment causing death warranted a starting point of 27 months' imprisonment; applying discounts for guilty plea, remorse and good character reduced the notional sentence to 16 months and permitted conversion to eight months' home detention. Community detention was rejected as too lenient given the need to hold the offender accountable. A two year driving disqualification and orders for specified reparations were imposed.
7 Feb 2020

R v HIRA MOANAROA TAWA [2019] NZHC 95

Citation

[2019] NZHC 95
Court

High Court

The jury convicted on the basis defendant's driving constituted a major departure from the standard of a reasonable driver (not an intentional strike); applying a four year starting point reduced by credits for youth, remorse and a late guilty plea produced an operative sentence of 12 months home detention, 200 hours community work and a 12 month driving disqualification post-sentence.
15 Jun 2018

R v LYON [2018] NZHC 1434

Citation

[2018] NZHC 1434
Court

High Court

Starting point of four years' imprisonment for reckless driving causing death was appropriate with a three month uplift for prior offending to 51 months; discounts were applied of 20% (restorative justice and remorse), 7 months for family caregiving impact, and a 20% guilty plea discount (reduced from 25% because of a disputed fact hearing) producing an effective sentence of 28 months' imprisonment; remaining charges sentenced to eight months concurrently; disqualification from driving for four years commencing on release.
4 May 2018

R v LYON [2018] NZHC 952

Citation

[2018] NZHC 952
Court

High Court

On balance of witness evidence, admissions, vehicle inspection and expert analysis, the Court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Lyon intentionally allowed the vehicle to lose traction, including fishtailing prior to the bend; the disputed fact was proved and the sentence indication starting point remains unchanged.
1 Jun 2017

RICHARDS v R [2017] NZCA 232

Citation

[2017] NZCA 232
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeal: although the THC finding should not have been treated as an aggravating factor given uncertainty about intoxication, the aggregate of other aggravating features (ignored passenger warnings, prolonged deliberate reckless driving including wrong-way driving and failure to give way, overloading, breach of licence, prior driving history, injuries and theft to avoid detection) justified a high culpability starting point of five years; after applying discounts for youth and guilty pleas the imposed sentence of three years and three months was within the available ran…
19 May 2017

R v LAWSON [2017] NZHC 1051

Citation

[2017] NZHC 1051
Court

High Court

Starting point of six years' imprisonment was appropriate for the extremely high culpability (multiple aggravating factors); a six month uplift for personal aggravation produced 6.5 years, a 15% reduction for a timely guilty plea and a six month credit for genuine remorse resulted in an effective sentence of five years' imprisonment; no minimum period of imprisonment was imposed; disqualification for five years from release was necessary for community protection.
3 Feb 2017

R v RICHARDS [2017] NZHC 74

Citation

[2017] NZHC 74
Court

High Court

Having assessed aggravating factors (cannabis use, disregard of passenger warnings, prolonged dangerous driving including wrong-way driving, overloaded vehicle, concurrent offences and prior driving convictions) defendant's culpability warranted a starting point of five years imprisonment; applying a 10% reduction for youth and a full 25% discount for an early guilty plea produced a 35% total reduction, resulting in a final custodial sentence of three years and three months; concurrent sentences imposed for injuries and theft; four year driving disqualification imposed.