§ 46-22-9 - Prohibited operation.
SECTION 46-22-9
§ 46-22-9 Prohibited operation. – (a) No person shall operate any motorboat or vessel, or manipulate any waterskis, surfboard, or similar device in a reckless manner so as to endanger thelife, limb, or property of another.
(b) No person shall operate any motorboat or vessel ormanipulate any water skis, surfboard, or similar device while intoxicated orunder the influence of any narcotic drug, barbiturate, or marijuana. A personarrested and charged with operating any motorboat or vessel, or manipulatingany water skis, surfboard, or similar device, while under the influence ofintoxicating liquor or narcotic or habit-forming drugs, shall have the right tobe examined at his or her own expense immediately after his or her arrest, by aphysician selected by him or her, and the officer so arresting or so chargingthat person shall immediately inform that person of this right and afford himor her a reasonable opportunity to exercise this right, and at the trial ofthat person the prosecution must prove that he or she was so informed and wasafforded the opportunity.
(c) No person shall operate a motorboat or vessel within awater area, which has been clearly marked, in accordance with, and asauthorized by, the laws of the state, by buoys or some other distinguishingdevice as a bathing, swimming, or otherwise restricted area; provided, thatthis section shall not apply in the case of an emergency, or to patrol orrescue craft. The department of environmental management, is hereby authorizedto establish maximum speeds for boats in the public harbors in the state ofRhode Island at five (5) miles per hour, no wake. Any such speed limits dulyestablished by the department of environmental management, pursuant hereto,shall have the full force and effect of law, and a violation thereof shall be amisdemeanor in accordance with the penalties enumerated in § 46-22-19(3).
(d) No person shall operate any motorboat, vessel, orseaplane in a manner which shall unreasonably or unnecessarily interfere withany other motorboat, vessel, or seaplane, or with the free and propernavigation of the waterways of the state. Anchoring under bridges or in heavilytraveled channels shall constitute interference if unreasonable under theprevailing circumstances.
(e) No motorboat, vessel, or seaplane shall be docked or madefast to any pier, wharf, or other shore structure without the consent of theowner thereof, except in the case of an emergency.