Cameron Zane Roberts, 24, of Havelock, was sentenced earlier this year to two years and eight months' jail for causing the death of 20-year-old Cobie Stringer by driving dangerously on March 5, 2012.
Mr Stringer sustained fatal brain and skull injuries when the car Roberts was driving crashed on the Patearoa-Ranfurly Rd shortly before midnight.
Justice Graham Panckhurst who heard the appeal in Dunedin said the case was "tragic" and was "another example of the prevalent problem of young men living in a rural environment", driving irresponsibly after drinking, with the result that one lost his life.
Roberts had been drinking with friends in Ranfurly earlier in the the night then drove to Patearoa with three men, including Mr Stringer, in the car.
They arrived about 8.30pm and met two other friends at the local hotel, where Roberts drank beer and a whisky. When the group left about 11.30pm, the other two people drove away first, heading for Ranfurly. Roberts followed with three passengers.
Mr Stringer, one of the rear passengers, was not wearing a seatbelt. The front seat passenger was initially also not wearing a seatbelt but fastened it after becoming uncomfortable because of the driving.
The car missed a moderate bend about 12km east of Ranfurly, went off the road into a ditch and slid about 50m before becoming airborne. It barrel rolled several times, coming to rest after another 64m. Mr Stringer was flung from the car and died at the scene. The two other passengers and Roberts himself escaped with relatively minor injuries.
A blood sample taken from Roberts five hours after the crash showed an alcohol reading of 68mg. His level at the time of the crash was estimated to have been between 126mg and 179mg, well above the legal limit of 80mg. His speed at the time of the crash was estimated at between 126kmh and 132kmh.
Counsel for Roberts, Stuart Blake, of Auckland, argued the sentence was clearly excessive. He said a shorter term should have been imposed which would have allowed consideration of a community-based penalty.
Mr Blake's main argument concerned the four and a-half year starting point adopted by the sentencing judge. The available range was between three and three and a-half years, at most, Mr Blake contended. He also challenged the judge's 40 per cent allowance for the mitigating factors, pointing to the steps Roberts had taken to change his lifestyle and attitudes.
The serious illness of both Roberts' parents warranted further recognition on humanitarian grounds, he said.
Crown counsel Richard Smith did not accept the starting point adopted was beyond the available range.
The fact the maximum penalty for dangerous driving causing death was doubled in 2011 from five to 10 years' jail meant end sentences and starting points could both be expected to have increased, so the four and a-half year starting point, although "stern", was "within range", Mr Smith said.
He accepted there were effectively three aggravating features - alcohol consumption, excessive speed and Roberts' driving conduct, which appeared to have been "aggressive" throughout the night.
The sentencing judge had been right to treat as a neutral factor Mr Stringer's failure to wear a seatbelt and to take the view it was the loss of control and the accident which caused the death, Mr Smith submitted.
Dismissing the appeal, Justice Panckhurst said he agreed, "in large measure", with Mr Smith's submissions. He said he was not persuaded the four and a-half year starting point for sentence was beyond the available range, although he agreed it was "stern".
The judge said he was also not persuaded the sentencing judge had been wrong not to allow more than 40 per cent for Roberts' prompt guilty plea and personal mitigating factors.
But he accepted "there was certainly weight in Mr Blake's submission that humanitarian grounds could have been factored in as a further aspect in relation to the personal credits".
