Drink-driving son who reversed over his mum avoids disqualification

Friday, 12 June 2026

A judge has decided against disqualifying a man from driving, even though he was intoxicated when he backed over his mother while moving a vehicle in their shared driveway.

Judge Campbell Savage said in the Timaru District Court on Tuesday that he was “satisfied that this was not the typical case in the circumstances” as he convicted and fined the 48-year-old man $500 for driving with excess breath alcohol causing injury.

The maximum sentence for the charge is five years jail, a $20,000 fine and a minimum one year driving disqualification.

Judge Savage said Justin Paul Farrell was not driving on the open road, and there was “no showboating, or speeding, or anything”.

Farrell’s lawyer, Jay Lovely, who submitted to Judge Savage for a Section 81 ruling to not disqualify his client from driving, also said the driving “distance was very short”.

Farrell had been drinking at home when he was asked to move his Ford Courier ute at 4.45pm on April 16, 2026.

“The summary I have before me says that you were required to move a motor vehicle parked at the bottom of the shared driveway at a residential address in Timaru,” Judge Savage said.

“When you look at the facts you were never intending to drive at all.”

But at the same time Farrell reversed, his mother was walking up the driveway, a short steep hill, to ask the neighbours to move a vehicle that was blocking the shared driveway.

Farrell reversed into his mother, “unaware where she was in the driveway”, the summary said.

“The defendant's vehicle hit her with the centre rear bumper, causing the victim to fall over, and end up under the vehicle before the defendant came to a stop.

“A small pool of blood had gathered under the victim’s head where she had landed head first onto the concrete as a result of being knocked over.”

The summary said police arrived as the victim was being lifted onto a stretcher for the ambulance.

“The victim was taken to Timaru Hospital where she remained for two nights due to her injuries.”

Farrell, when spoken to by police, admitted to having consumed alcohol throughout the day, and an evidential breath test returned 684mcg of alcohol per litre of breath. The criminal limit is 400mcg.

The victim suffered a 3cm laceration on her skull from where her head made contact with the concrete.

“The bleeding had stopped by the time she was transported to hospital.

“She suffered pain in her scapula, along with superficial grazes on the scapula, shins, and fingers.”

Judge Savage said Farrell was unaware that his mother was on the driveway and that the incident caused an injury “must have been traumatic” for both.

“I have the discretion through Section 81 of the Land Transport Act to not impose a mandatory disqualification if there are exceptional circumstances in relation to the offending.

Judge Savage also said Farrell had never appeared in court and while it was an excessive level of alcohol in the defendant’s breath, he believed it was not a typical case.

Is a driveway a road?

Drive.govt.nz, a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and ACC website for helping people learning to drive, says roads are usually made of asphalt, or gravel.

“Under New Zealand law, the word ‘road’ can also legally mean beaches, riverbeds, car parks, and driveways that are open to the street,” the website says.

“Roads can include any places the public have access to.

“Fenced off private property, and other areas are not roads.

“For example, a driveway with a gate, or a fenced-off playground aren’t roads.”

What is Section 81?

Section 81 of the Land Transport Act is a provision that allows the court to consider special reasons why you should not be disqualified.

Each case is approached on a case-by-case basis, and there’s no specific definition of what constitutes a special reason.

Special reasons do not relate to personal circumstances.