This is odd

OK start with the boilerplate, a boy is killed by a police car and the boy's mother wants the you know whats of policeman who was driving the car on a plate.

The mother of an intoxicated teen who died after being struck by a police car has condemned the independent police watchdog's ruling over his death.

The actions of 16-year-old Rawiri Riro Wilson contributed to the 2009 tragedy, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has ruled.

Wilson's mother, Sharlene Wilson, told TV3: "It really shocked me for someone like that to take a life and then find they had got away with it.

She didn't get them so she's angry.

Here's where it gets odd. We are told it was a dark foggy night on an unlit stretch of highway. The boy and his friends were drunk and stoned and according to witness accounts goofing off. Indeed other drivers testified that they had had to take evasive action to avoid these boys.

Sounds like an accident waiting to happen to me. But the policeman shares some culpability it seems.

The IPCA said while the officer's actions were not unlawful, it stated "his failure to have his headlights on high beam were unreasonable and undesirable pursuant to the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988".

It added that driving in fog with lights on low beam were not the actions of a "reasonable and prudent driver''.

And two months after coroner Garry Evans ruled the tragedy could have been avoided had the officer been driving with his lights on high beam

He didn't have his headlights on high beam huh?

So what does the New Zealand road code have to say about this

Dip your headlamps in fog

If you drive with your lamps on full beam in fog, the light will just reflect back on you. Dip your lights – it will be much easier to see.

Don't just turn your park lights on. They are hard for oncoming drivers to see and do little to improve your vision.

You can use front fog lights when driving in fog. These have a wide, low beam and produce either a white or yellow light.

Rear fog lights, which produce a high-intensity red light, should only be used when visibility is very bad. (In normal conditions they can dazzle drivers following you.)

Fog lights should be switched off as driving conditions improve.

What can you say about the abysmal performance of both the IPCA and the coroner that they both ruled in direct contradiction to what the road code actually says?

Credibility shot I'd say.

Update: Oswald has noticed this too.