§ 52-7-1. Short Title
This article shall be known and may be cited as the “Georgia Boat Safety Act.” History. Ga. L. 1973, p. 1427, § 1.
§ 52-7-10. Exhausts to Be Muffled; Exemptions; Noise Level Testing
The exhaust of every internal combustion engine used on any vessel, excluding those vessels documented by the United States Coast Guard and licensed pursuant to Code Section 27-2-8, shall be muffled or baffled and water injected, except those engines that exhaust through the lower unit or outdrive when the vessel is on plane, so as […]
§ 52-7-11. Lights
Categories. Requirements for lights on vessels operated within this state fall into two categories: regulations for vessels using inland waters (waters of this state) and regulations for vessels using international waters (coastal waters). Vessels equipped to meet international waters requirements may operate on any waters; however, vessels equipped to meet inland waters requirements are […]
§ 52-7-12. Operation of Watercraft While Under Influence of Alcohol, Toxic Vapors, or Drugs; Legal Drug Use Not Exempted; Blood and Other Chemical Tests; Test Refusal; Owner’s Liability for Allowing Another to Operate While Intoxicated; Civil and Criminal Actions; Child Endangerment
No person shall operate, navigate, steer, or drive any moving vessel, or be in actual physical control of any moving vessel, nor shall any person manipulate any moving water skis, moving aquaplane, moving surfboard, or similar moving device while: Under the influence of alcohol to the extent that it is less safe for the person […]
§ 52-7-12.1. Reckless Operation of Vessel or Other Water Device
Any person who operates any vessel or manipulates any water skis, aquaplane, surfboard, tube, or similar device in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property commits the offense of reckless operation of a vessel or other water device. History. Code 1981, § 52-7-12.1 , enacted by Ga. L. 1994, p. 680, § 6.
§ 52-7-12.2. Homicide by Vessel
Any person who, without malice aforethought, causes the death of another person through the violation of subsection (j) of Code Section 52-7-8.2, Code Section 52-7-12 or 52-7-12.1, subsection (b) of Code Section 52-7-13, or subsection (c) of Code Section 52-7-25 commits the offense of homicide by vessel in the first degree. A person convicted under […]
§ 52-7-12.3. Feticide by Vessel
For the purposes of this Code section, the term “unborn child” means a member of the species homo sapiens at any stage of development who is carried in the womb. A person commits the offense of feticide by vessel in the first degree if he or she causes the death of an unborn child by […]
§ 52-7-12.4. Serious Injury by Vessel
Whoever, without malice, shall cause bodily harm to another by depriving him or her of a member of his or her body, by rendering a member of his or her body useless, by seriously disfiguring his or her body or a member thereof, or by causing organic brain damage which renders the body or any […]
§ 52-7-12.5. Ordering Drug, Alcohol, or Other Substance Tests; Implied Consent Warning; Reports; Suspension; Hearing; Certificate of Inspection
The test or tests required under Code Section 52-7-12 shall be administered as soon as possible at the request of a law enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to believe that the person has been operating or was in actual physical control of a moving vessel upon the waters of this state in violation of Code […]
§ 52-7-12.6. Terms of Suspension; Return of Operating Privilege; Operation When Suspended
Any operator’s privilege to operate a vessel on the waters of this state required to be suspended under subsection (d) of Code Section 52-7-12.5 shall be suspended subject to the following terms and conditions: Upon the first suspension pursuant to subsection (d) of Code Section 52-7-12.5 within the previous five years, as measured from the […]
§ 52-7-12.7. Suspension of Privileges to Operate a Vessel Upon Waters of This State for Violations of Vessel Laws
Except as provided for in Code Sections 52-7-12, 52-7-12.5, and 52-7-12.6, and notwithstanding criminal proceedings that may be initiated by law, upon a determination by the department that a person has violated this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, is in noncompliance with a citation issued by another state regarding the operation […]
§ 52-7-13. Boating Safety Zones; Restrictions on Use of Motors and Operation of Houseboats on Certain Lakes; Exceptions
The following are established as boating safety zones from May 1 through the following September 30: The ocean waters adjacent to Jekyll Island, which shall include all those waters for a distance of 1,000 feet from the high-water mark on Jekyll Beach from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of Jekyll Island; The ocean […]
§ 52-7-14. Collisions, Accidents, and Casualties; Salvage Rights
Duty to render assistance and identify vessel and self. 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, to render to other persons affected by the collision, […]
§ 52-7-15. Furnishing Information to Federal Officials and Agencies
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 (c) of Code Section 52-7-14 shall be transmitted to such official or agency of the United States for analytical and statistical purposes. History. Ga. L. 1960, […]
§ 52-7-16. Towing Persons on Water Skis, Aquaplanes, Surfboards or Similar Device
No person shall operate a vessel on any of the waters of this state for towing a person or persons on water skis, aquaplane, surfboard, or any similar device unless the vessel is equipped with a wide-angle mirror mounted in such a manner as to permit the operator of the vessel to observe at all […]
§ 52-7-17. Speed and Load Restrictions; Riding of Bow or Gunwale of Vessel
The speed of each vessel shall at all times be regulated so as to avoid danger or injury or damage or unnecessary inconvenience, directly or by the effect of the wash or wave raised by the vessel, while in the vicinity of swimming areas, docks, floating boat houses, moored boats, or boats engaged in fishing […]
§ 52-7-18. Rules of the Road for Boat Traffic
All vessels operating on the coastal waters of this state shall conform to the “Steering and Sailing Rules” established by Section II, Rules 11 through 18, of the International Navigation Rules Act of 1977, as amended. All vessels operating on the inland waters of this state shall conform to the “Steering and Sailing Rules” established […]
§ 52-7-19. Regattas, Boat Races, Marine Parades, Tournaments, and Exhibitions
The department may regulate the holding of regattas, boat races, marine parades, tournaments, or exhibitions which by their nature, circumstance, or location will introduce extra or unusual hazards to the safety or lives of participants or observers or will subject the water and adjoining upland resource upon which the event will be held to extra […]
§ 52-7-2. Declaration of Policy
It is the policy of this state to promote safety for persons and property in and connected with the use, operation, and equipment of vessels and to promote the uniformity of laws relating thereto. History. Ga. L. 1973, p. 1427, § 2.
§ 52-7-20. Operation of Vessels in Vicinity of Regulatory Markers and Aids to Navigation; Tampering With Regulatory Markers and Aids to Navigation
As used in this Code section, the term: “Aids to navigation” means buoys, beacons, or other fixed objects in the water which are used to mark obstructions to navigation or to direct navigation through safe channels. “Regulatory markers” means any anchored or fixed marker in or on the water or any sign on the shore […]