§ 270:1-a — Drownings and Boating Accident Reports

I. The operator of a vessel who knows or reasonably should have known that he or she has just been involved in any accident that involved death, personal injury, or damage to property, shall immediately stop said vessel at the scene of the accident, render any assistance that he or she is capable of giving to the occupants of any other vessel involved in the accident, and give the operator or owner of any other vessel involved in such accident, and to any person injured, and to the owner of any property damaged, the operator's name and the owner's name and address, the vessel registration number, and the name and address of each occupant. If by reason of injury or absence or removal from the place of the accident or other cause, such injured person, or operator of such other vessel, or owner of the property damaged, or any of them, is unable to understand or receive the information required in this section, such information shall be given to any marine patrol officer or other police officer with jurisdiction arriving at the scene of the accident or immediately to a marine patrol officer or other police officer at the nearest police station or at marine patrol headquarters. Any person operating a vessel that is in any manner involved in the accident shall, within 15 days after such accident, report in writing to the department of safety the facts required hereunder together with a statement of the circumstances if any person is injured or killed or if damage to property is in excess of $2,000. If the operator is physically or mentally incapable of making such report, or fails or refuses to make the report or provide required information, the owner of the vessel involved in the accident or the owner's representative shall, after learning of the accident, forthwith notify any marine patrol officer or other police officer with jurisdiction and make such report. The operator or the owner shall furnish to the department such relevant information as the department shall require.
II. All law enforcement agencies having knowledge of a drowning or boating accident shall have a duty to report any personal injury resulting from a boating accident, death or drowning including suspected drowning, and all boating accidents wherein there is resulting damage of $2,000 or more, immediately, to the commissioner of safety or the commissioner's authorized representative.
III. It shall be the responsibility of the commissioner of safety and the commissioner's authorized representative to investigate any drowning or suspected drowning and all accidents in which there is serious injury, death, or property damage of $2,000 or more. Said investigation shall be in addition to, and independent of, any investigation made by other agencies of government, except that said agencies may exchange data and cooperate with each other to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts.
IV. Jurisdiction for the purposes of this section shall extend to all waters under the jurisdiction of the state of New Hampshire.

Legislative History

1973, 313:1. 1987, 124:6, I(c). 1989, 143:4, 5. 1993, 76:1, 2. 1999, 32:3. 2004, 58:1, 11, eff. June 2, 2004. 2011, 224:243, eff. July 1, 2011. 2024, 56:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.