West Virginia § 20-7-18 Care in handling watercraft; duty to render aid after a collision, accident, or casualty; accident reports

West Virginia Statutes

§ 20-7-18 — Care in handling watercraft; duty to render aid after a collision, accident, or casualty; accident reports

West Virginia § 20-7-18

Ch. 20NATURAL RESOURCES

Art. 7LAW ENFORCEMENT, MOTORBOATING, LITTER

This text of West Virginia § 20-7-18 (Care in handling watercraft; duty to render aid after a collision, accident, or casualty; accident reports) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

W. Va. Code § 20-7-18 (2026).

Text

(a)No person shall operate a motorboat, jet ski, or other motorized vessel or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.

(b)No person shall operate any motorboat, jet ski, or other motorized vessel, or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or drug, under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or while having an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by weight.

(c)The operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as he or she can do so without serious danger to his or her own

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(a) No person shall operate a motorboat, jet ski, or other motorized vessel or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any person.

(b) No person shall operate any motorboat, jet ski, or other motorized vessel, or manipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or drug, under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or while having an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of eight hundredths of one percent or more, by weight.

(c) The operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as he or she can do so without serious danger to his or her own vessel, crew, and any passengers, to 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 shall also give his or her name, address, and identification of his or her vessel in writing to any person injured and to the owner of any property damaged in the collision, accident, or other casualty.

(d) The operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty shall file an accident report with the director if the incident results in a loss of life, in a personal injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid or in excess of $2,000 damage to a vessel or other property. The report shall be made on such forms and contain information as prescribed by the director. Upon a request duly made by an authorized official or agency of the United States, any information compiled or otherwise available to the director pursuant to this subsection shall be transmitted to the official or agency.