5-331. Personal flotation devices; requirements; exception
A. All watercraft, except sailboards, shall carry United States coast guard approved personal flotation devices of the type and category prescribed by regulations of the commission. There shall be one such device in good and serviceable condition for each person on board and so placed as to be readily accessible for immediate use.
B. Any person who is being towed behind a watercraft shall wear a wearable personal flotation device while being towed except for a performer who is engaged in a professional exhibition.
C. A child who is twelve years of age or under and who is on board a watercraft shall wear a properly fitting United States coast guard approved wearable personal flotation device whenever the watercraft is underway.
D. Subsection C of this section does not apply to small passenger vessels that are not for hire on navigable waters, that maintain a coast guard certificate of inspection and that are being operated by United States coast guard licensed pilots within a distance of one-fourth mile from the nearest shore as a means of transporting passengers and when the duration of time the vessel is underway on the water does not exceed ten minutes.