North Dakota Code 20.1-13-07 – Prohibited operation – Penalty
1. An individual may not operate a motorboat or vessel, or manipulate water skis, a surfboard, or similar device in a reckless or negligent manner so as to endanger the life, limb, or property of any individual. Reckless or negligent operation of a motorboat or vessel includes weaving through congested motorboat or vessel traffic, jumping the wake of another motorboat or vessel within one hundred feet [30.48 meters] of the motorboat or vessel, or in any other manner that is not reasonable or prudent.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 20.1-13-07
- Department: means the game and fish department. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Manufacturer: means any person engaged in:
a. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Motorboat: means any vessel propelled by machinery, whether or not the machinery is the principal source of propulsion. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Operate: means to navigate or otherwise use a motorboat or a vessel. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Person: includes every partnership, association, corporation, and limited liability company. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Personal watercraft: means a motorboat that is powered by an inboard motor powering a water jet pump or by an inboard or outboard marine engine and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the craft, rather than in a conventional manner of sitting or standing inside a motorboat. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Slow or no wake speed: means the slowest possible speed necessary to maintain steerage. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Vessel: means any watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
- Wildlife: means any member of the animal kingdom including any mammal, fish, bird (including any migratory, nonmigratory, or endangered bird for which protection is also afforded by treaty or other international agreement), amphibian, reptile, mollusk, crustacean, or other invertebrate, and includes any part, product, egg, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof. See North Dakota Code 20.1-01-02
2. An individual may not operate a motorboat or vessel, or manipulate water skis, a surfboard, or similar device if any of the following apply:
a. The individual has an alcohol concentration of at least ten one-hundredths of one percent by weight at the time of the performance of the test within two hours after the operating of a motorboat or vessel.
b. The individual is under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
c. The individual is under the influence of a drug or substance or combination of drugs or substances to a degree which renders the individual incapable of safely operating a motorboat or vessel.
d. The individual is under the combined influence of alcohol and any other drugs or substances to a degree which renders that person incapable of safely operating a motorboat or vessel.
The fact that an individual charged with violating this section is or has been legally entitled to use alcohol or other drugs or substances is not a defense against a charge for violating this section, unless a drug that predominantly caused impairment was used only as directed or cautioned by a practitioner who legally prescribed or dispensed the drug to the individual.
3. An individual under twelve years of age may not operate a motorboat propelled by over a ten horsepower motor unless the operator is accompanied by an individual eighteen years of age or older. An individual who violates this subsection is guilty of a class 2 noncriminal offense.
4. An individual of twelve through fifteen years of age may not operate a motorboat propelled by over a ten horsepower motor unless the operator is accompanied by an individual eighteen years of age or older or the operator has taken and passed a boating course approved by the department. An individual who violates this subsection is guilty of a class 2 noncriminal offense.
5. An individual may not cause or knowingly permit a minor under sixteen years of age to operate a motorboat propelled by over a ten horsepower motor unless the minor is otherwise authorized to do so by this section.
6. An individual may not operate a motorboat or vessel within one hundred feet [30.48 meters] of a person fishing from a shoreline, swimmer, swimming diving raft, or an occupied, anchored or nonmotorized vessel, or within two hundred fifty feet [76.20 meters] of a reduced speed or slow or no wake sign at greater than slow or no wake speed.
7. An individual may not operate or permit the operation of a personal watercraft:
a. Without each person on board the personal watercraft wearing a United States coast guard approved type I, II, III, or V personal flotation device; b. Within one hundred feet [30.48 meters] of a person fishing from a shoreline, swimmer, swimming diving raft, or an occupied, anchored or nonmotorized vessel at greater than slow or no wake speed; c. While towing an individual on water skis, a kneeboard, an inflatable craft, or any other device unless an observer is on board or the personal watercraft is equipped with a mirror on each side which provides the operator an unobstructed field of vision to the rear; d. Without a lanyard-type engine cutoff switch being attached to the individual, clothing, or personal flotation device of the operator, if the personal watercraft is equipped by the manufacturer with such a device; e. If a part of the spring-loaded throttle mechanism has been removed, altered, or tampered with so as to interfere with the return-to-idle system; f. To chase or harass wildlife; g. Through emergent or floating vegetation at other than slow or no wake speed; h. In a manner that unreasonably or unnecessarily endangers life, limb, or property, including weaving through congested watercraft traffic, jumping the wake of another watercraft within one hundred feet [30.48 meters] of the other watercraft; or
i. In any other manner that is not reasonable and prudent.
8. An individual who violates subdivision c of subsection 7 is guilty of a class 2 noncriminal offense.