(a) No person shall deface or alter any serial number, model designation, or other identifying mark on any watercraft or motor as placed thereon by the manufacturer thereof, or remove, deface, or alter the registration number of any watercraft as the registration number appears on the bow thereof except by specific order of the Chief of the Division of Watercraft.
(b) No person shall give purposely false information concerning any watercraft or motor when applying for registration of the watercraft. Any certificate issued which is found to be based on such false information is void.
(c) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(Ord. 79-07. Passed 11-13-07.)
(a) Operator to Stop and Furnish Information upon Accident or Collision.
(1) In case of accident to or collision with persons or property on the waters of this Municipality, due to the operation of any vessel, the operator having knowledge of the accident or collision shall immediately stop the vessel at the scene of the accident or collision, to the extent that it is safe and practical, and shall remain at the scene of the accident or collision until he or she has given his or her name and address and, if he or she is not the owner, the name and address of the owner of the vessel, together with the registration number of the vessel, if any, to any person injured in the accident or collision or to the operator, occupant, owner, or attendant of any vessel damaged in the accident or collision, or to any law enforcement officer at the scene of the accident or collision.
(2) If the injured person is unable to comprehend and record the information required to be given by this section, the other operator involved in the accident or collision shall forthwith notify the nearest law enforcement agency having authority concerning the location of the accident or collision, and his or her name, address, and the registration number, if any, of the vessel he or she was operating, and then remain at the scene of the accident or collision or at the nearest location from which notification is possible until a law enforcement officer arrives, unless removed from the scene by an emergency vehicle operated by the State or a political subdivision or by an ambulance.
(3) If the accident or collision is with an unoccupied or unattended vessel, the operator so colliding with the vessel shall securely attach the information required to be given in this section, in writing, to a conspicuous place in or on the unoccupied or unattended vessel.
(b) Duties After Collision or Accident; Accident Reports.
(1) The operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as the operator can do so without serious danger to the operator's own vessel, crew, and passengers, shall render to other persons affected by the collision, accident, or other casualty such assistance as may be practicable and as may be necessary in order to save them from or minimize any danger caused by the collision, accident, or other casualty. The operator also shall give the operator's name, address, and identification of the operator's vessel in writing to any person injured and to the owner of any property damaged in the collision, accident, or other casualty.
(2) Any person who renders assistance at the scene of a collision, accident, or other casualty involving a vessel is not liable in a civil action for damages or injury to persons or property resulting from any act or omission in rendering assistance or in providing or arranging salvage, towage, medical treatment, or other assistance, except that the person is liable for willful or wanton misconduct in rendering assistance. Nothing in this section precludes recovery from any tortfeasor causing a collision, accident, or other casualty of damages caused or aggravated by the rendering of assistance.
(3) In the case of collision, accident, or other casualty involving a vessel, the operator thereof, if the collision, accident, or other casualty results in loss of life, personal injury requiring medical treatment beyond first aid, or damage to property in excess of five hundred dollars ($500.00), shall file with the Chief of the Division of Watercraft a full description of the collision, accident, or other casualty on a form prescribed by the Chief of the Division of Watercraft. The report so filed shall be used for statistical purposes only and shall not be admissible for any purpose in any civil, criminal, or administrative action at law.
(4) If the operator of the vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty is incapacitated, the investigating law enforcement officer shall file the required form as prescribed by the Chief of the Division of Watercraft.
(c) Penalty.
(1) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) Whoever violates division (b) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. (Ord. 79-07. Passed 11-13-07.)