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I not sure if this is exacly the right forum to ask this question as I am new on here. I was driving down from Oamaru and I got a bit sleeply. Just north of Palmerston i lost control of my car and it ended up in the side of the ditch on the left hand side of the road. I had not been drinking.. No one else was involved and i had no real injuries apart from a scratch. The car was alot more damaged and there was no damage to any other property like a fence. A traffic officer from Hampden came and interviewed me at the service station at Palmerston. He said at a worse case scenero I might be charged. I have a pretty good traffic record over 35 years with just one speeding fine where I was 2 ks over the limit near a school. What type of penalty would I be looking at. I realise that I am at fault here

It will all depend on what, if anything, the Police decide to charge you with. Given there were no injuries or other property damage, it may be at the lesser end of the scale of charges. For example, they could charge you with 'careless or inconsiderate' driving under the Land Transport Act, which carries a maximum penalty of $3,000 (if convicted) and possible licence disqualification for a period set by the court. The next more serious offence is 'reckless or dangerous' driving, which carries a maximum fine of $4,500 or up to 3 months imprisonment plus a minimum 6 months licence disqualification (if convicted). Given the circumstances and your driving record, I would expect the Police will be reasonably lenient in choosing what charges to lay.

There is some information on offences and penalties in the official NZ Road Code.