Parent in car with restricted driver - passenger or supervisor and alcohol

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Oriphix

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#1700855 10-Jan-2017 12:23

You are the parent so either way it works?

1. Go to the party as a supervisor and come back as a passenger
2. Go as a passenger and come back as a passenger.

hio77

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#1700882 10-Jan-2017 13:14

The way i look at it.

per the law, no you cant. you should not rely on it.

In the rare case that this would happen AND the restricted driver is very much competent (lets say, nearing time for their full).. I would much rather the sober restricted driver does it.

Gets a drunk driver off the road at the end of the day.

Somewhat in that grey area, much like driving your dependant on a restricted which is legally allowed.

You wouldn't do this unless you were confident one would hope.

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Coil

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#1700886 10-Jan-2017 13:29

Jase2985:

TimA:

The alcohol part of the question yes.
Its a double edged sword. Hes a capable supervisor but at the same time the law allows for him to be carried as a passenger.
I would say in this instance the law would classify you as a supervisor over a passenger. As your his legal guardian and you not under the care of your son. But on the same hand you could be intoxicated in an emergency or very unwell where he is required to drive you.

Its down the the situation and discretion.

If you need a ride and your drunk use a Taxi ;)

Not at all, as soon as you are too drunk to be a capable supervisor (same limit as if you were driving) you then become a passenger.

But even then as his parent you could be either as long as you meet the criteria for being a supervisor or a legal passenger with out a supervisor..

If they have been drinking and its before 10pm then they are most certainly a passenger. and the law says its ok. i just wouldn't be putting more people in the car.

He can be in the back seat of the car and not drunk and still be a passenger, and its still ok for his son to drive him round as hes his son's parent/guardian.

so the answer to the question is yes your son can drive you.

Yep he can, See the snip below. When i had my restricted a few years ago i queried where i could take my sister without supervision to appointments and so fourth. I was told i had to apply for permission and prove that i was her primary care giver. I was only trying to help my single mother of two teenage kids with a full time Telco job that was always around the country.

Maybe the law has slightly changed, But when i did my research i had to have genuine reasons.

You cannot normally carry passengers, unless you have a supervisor with you. The only passengers you can carry without a supervisor are:
- your spouse, or the person you live with as if you were married or with whom you are joined in a civil union
- children who live with you and are under the care of you or your spouse (that is, you or your spouse are their parent or guardian
- your parent or guardian
- relatives who live with you and who are on a social security benefit
- someone you look after as their primary caregiver.

Jase2985

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#1700889 10-Jan-2017 13:33

@TimA the OP is the persons parent/guardian they can carry them when ever they like regardless of their condition or inebriation. it even says that in the bit you quoted.

in your case your "sister" is not on that list, and rightly so you had to apply for exemption because your mother was her primary care giver. so if you wanted to do that you would need an exemption to the law.

Jase2985

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#1700892 10-Jan-2017 13:35

hio77:

per the law, no you cant. you should not rely on it.

but where does the law say you cant?

the person (OP)is the PARENT, and and has their Full license. the law says you can carry your parent so they could be drunk, or what ever and you can still carry them with out the need of someone satisfying the supervisor criteria.

Coil

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#1700952 10-Jan-2017 15:16

Jase2985:

@TimA the OP is the persons parent/guardian they can carry them when ever they like regardless of their condition or inebriation. it even says that in the bit you quoted.

in your case your "sister" is not on that list, and rightly so you had to apply for exemption because your mother was her primary care giver. so if you wanted to do that you would need an exemption to the law.

Yep i see it doesnt state a condition of which they are in. I personally would be curious to see how a police officer handles a Restricted driver driving a Drunk relative inside the time frames. Why isnt there a AMA for Police in NZ :)

Jase2985

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#1700985 10-Jan-2017 15:50

i dont imagine it would be any different to driving your 5 year old son, or your 95 year old Grand parent with dementia, the would all have similar mental capacity, and be zero help to the driver.

the point im making is the passengers you are allow to carry, dont necessarly have to have any supervisory capability so they dont need to meet ANY of the criteria of one, be it a license or be in a state to drive. as long as they are one of those mentioned then you dont need someone supervising your driving.

i imagine the 5am to 10pm still applies though.

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hio77

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#1701098 10-Jan-2017 19:25

TimA:

Jase2985:

@TimA the OP is the persons parent/guardian they can carry them when ever they like regardless of their condition or inebriation. it even says that in the bit you quoted.

in your case your "sister" is not on that list, and rightly so you had to apply for exemption because your mother was her primary care giver. so if you wanted to do that you would need an exemption to the law.

Yep i see it doesnt state a condition of which they are in. I personally would be curious to see how a police officer handles a Restricted driver driving a Drunk relative inside the time frames. Why isnt there a AMA for Police in NZ :)

I would expect this to be Very situational, which would be why its in a bit of a grey area.

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richms

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#1701106 10-Jan-2017 19:50

I don't see why there would be any question of it within the timeframes stated. They are not a supervisor so have no need to even have a license at all as they fit into the list of allowable passengers.

I had a friend ages back get into grief because he was driving his grandparent (or may have been great grandparent) around on a restricted. That seemed to be one of the oversights of the law but they got off it by writing in.

Richard rich.ms

blakamin

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#1701108 10-Jan-2017 19:52

hio77:

TimA:

Jase2985:

@TimA the OP is the persons parent/guardian they can carry them when ever they like regardless of their condition or inebriation. it even says that in the bit you quoted.

in your case your "sister" is not on that list, and rightly so you had to apply for exemption because your mother was her primary care giver. so if you wanted to do that you would need an exemption to the law.

Yep i see it doesnt state a condition of which they are in. I personally would be curious to see how a police officer handles a Restricted driver driving a Drunk relative that lives with you on a benefit inside the time frames. Why isnt there a AMA for Police in NZ :)

I would expect this to be Very situational, which would be why its in a bit of a grey area.

Not just "relative" @TimA, fixed it for you.... Probably happens hourly in some parts of the country.

It's not situational if it's within the hours... They can be asleep as far as the law stands. They wouldn't even have to show ID other than to prove they are the parent, or relative with the same address. The ID wouldn't have to be a licence. And they couldn't be breathalysed as they aren't supervising.

This is why I suggested sitting in the back (not that it should matter).

cadman

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#1701331 11-Jan-2017 12:01

Linux:

TimA:

What i was told is that the supervisor has to be in a legal state to drive if the driver can not.

Hope that clarifies it.

110% correct

Linux

I recall an Insurance Ombudsman decision I read a few years ago (I'll try and find it again and post it here) where an intoxicated person got a friend on a provisional licence to drive them home in the intoxicated person's vehicle and there was a crash and the insurance company attempted to avoid the policy on the grounds that there was a breach of driver's licence conditions on the basis that the person "in charge" was intoxicated. That Ombudsman decision stated there is no legal requirement for the person "in charge" of a vehicle to be under the prescribed alcohol limit and upheld the insured's complaint and required the insurer to settle the claim. I cannot find any such requirement in the current Land Transport Act 1998 either under the conditions of a restricted driver's licence.

Where are you getting your information from?

Edit: Found that ombudsman decision.

gedc

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#1701387 11-Jan-2017 13:43

Thanks to all informed comments and opinion. I also emailed NZTA asking for some formal guidance and I have attached their helpful yet vague reply which would indicate there isn't a clear ruling on this and it is discretionary with the officer in attendance. However they did confirm the Supervisor / Passenger distinction as we all generally seemed to agree upon.

A restricted licence holder can carry a parent as a passenger without a supervisor providing it is between the hours that a restricted licence holder can drive unsupervised. In this situation the parent of the restricted licence holder could be deemed to not be acting in the capacity of a supervisor. Whether there are any legal consequences for yourself or the driver regarding you as the passenger having consumed alcohol would be a discussion you would need to have with an enforcement officer if stopped.

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