Title 29.1, Title 29.1. Wildlife, Inland Fisheries and Boating

A. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of twenty-one to operate any watercraft or motorboat upon the waters of the Commonwealth after consuming alcohol. Any such person with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.02 percent or more by weight by volume or 0.02 grams or m…

A person shall be guilty of reckless operation of a motorboat or vessel who operates any personal watercraft recklessly or at a speed or in such a manner so as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person, which shall include, but not be limited to: 1. Weaving through ves…

Any person who is suspected of a violation of subsection B of § 29.1-738 or § 29.1-738.02 shall be entitled, if such equipment is available, to have a preliminary breath analysis for the purpose of obtaining an analysis of the probable alcohol content of his blood. The procedures…

A. Any person who operates a watercraft or motorboat which is underway upon waters of the Commonwealth shall be deemed thereby, as a condition of such operation, to have consented to have samples of his blood, breath, or both blood and breath taken for a chemical test to determin…

In any prosecution for operating a watercraft or motorboat that is underway in violation of clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of subsection B of § 29.1-738, or of a similar ordinance of any county, city or town, the amount of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the accused at the time of …

In addition to any other penalties authorized by law, upon conviction of any person for violation of any provision of § 29.1-738, the court shall order such person not to operate a watercraft or motorboat which is underway upon the waters of the Commonwealth for a period of twelv…

A. Any person convicted of a violation of subsection B of § 29.1-738, or any ordinance of a county, city or town similar to the provisions thereof, or any second offense thereunder, shall, with leave of court or upon court order, enter into an alcohol safety action program certif…

In any case in which a law-enforcement officer arrests the operator of a vessel, and there is no legal cause for the retention of the vessel by the officer, the officer shall allow the person arrested to designate another person who is present at the scene of the arrest to operat…

A. It shall be the duty of the operator of a vessel involved in a collision, accident, or other casualty, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, crew, and passengers (if any), to render persons affected by the collision, accident, or other casualty such …

A. Any person who, having received a visible or audible signal of a flashing light or siren from any conservation police officer or other law-enforcement officer to bring his motorboat or other vessel, or seaplane to a stop, fails to do so promptly shall be guilty of a Class 3 mi…

The Department shall have an enhanced enforcement effort that is commensurate with the level of boating activity from Memorial Day through Labor Day in the waters of those Virginia lakes that (i) are of a size comparable to or greater than Smith Mountain Lake and (ii) have a comp…

It shall be the duty of every operator of a vessel involved in a collision to stop and render assistance as required by § 29.1-739. If any person knowingly fails to comply with the provisions of § 29.1-739 when the collision, accident or other casualty results in serious bodily i…

In accordance with any request duly made by an authorized official or agency of the United States, any information compiled or otherwise available to the Department pursuant to subsection B of § 29.1-739 shall be transmitted to the official or agency of the United States.

A. No person shall operate a vessel on any waters of the Commonwealth for towing a person or persons on water skis, a surfboard, or a similar device unless there is in the vessel a person, in addition to the operator, in a position to observe the progress of the person or persons…

A. Any political subdivision of this Commonwealth may, at any time, but only after public notice, formally apply to the Board for special rules and regulations with reference to the safe and reasonable operation of vessels on any water within its territorial limits and shall spec…

It shall be unlawful to operate any motorboat, except a personal watercraft, at a speed greater than the slowest possible speed required to maintain steerage and headway when within 50 feet or less of docks, piers, boathouses, boat ramps, or a person in the water, unless such per…

After providing notice to the Department, any locality may, by ordinance, establish "pass-through" zones in any portion of a waterway within its territorial limits where congestion of watercraft traffic routinely poses a significant safety risk to persons in such designated area.…

A. Every conservation police officer, officer of the Virginia Marine Police, and other law-enforcement officer of the Commonwealth and its subdivisions shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall have authority to stop, board, and inspect any vess…

A. Unless specified otherwise, any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted under this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor for each such violation. B. Upon the conviction of any person for the violation of any provision of this chap…

A. It is unlawful for any person to: 1. Operate a personal watercraft unless he is at least sixteen years of age, except any person fourteen or fifteen years of age shall be allowed to operate a personal watercraft if he (i) has successfully completed a boating safety education c…

A. Any locality in Planning District 23 may, by ordinance, prohibit the operation of a personal watercraft on a public lake measuring less than 50 acres in extent. Such ordinance shall provide that a violation of the prohibition constitutes a Class 4 misdemeanor. Any violation of…

A. It shall be unlawful for the owner of or any person having control of a personal watercraft to authorize or knowingly permit a person under the age of sixteen to operate the personal watercraft, unless the person fourteen or fifteen years of age has successfully completed a bo…

Every business located in a city with a population greater than 390,000 that provides personal watercraft for rent shall place the letter "R," at least eleven inches in height and eight and one-half inches in width, on both sides of each personal watercraft rental, in either red …

A. The City of Virginia Beach may by ordinance regulate personal watercraft as provided in this section. Any ordinance enacted pursuant to this section may include any of the following provisions: 1. Any business which offers personal watercraft for rent shall (i) require any per…

Any person who is in the business of renting personal watercraft to the public shall provide to any person who rents a personal watercraft instruction on the laws of the Commonwealth governing motorboat operation, specific operating requirements of the personal watercraft being r…

The provisions of this article shall not apply to participants in regattas, races, marine parades, tournaments, or exhibitions approved by the Board or United States Coast Guard.