§200-29 Accident reports by operators; confidential nature. The operator of:
(1) Any vessel involved in a boating accident in the waters of the State; and
(2) Any vessel required to be registered, or registered, with the department and involved in a boating accident in any waters,
shall file a written report with the department truthfully setting forth all relevant information required by the department; provided that the report need not be filed with the department where the operator is required by federal laws and requirements to report the accident to the Coast Guard.
The department shall transmit information of all boating accidents to the Coast Guard as may be requested by the agency for compilation, analysis, and publication of statistics.
The accident reports required by this section shall be used only to enable the department and the Coast Guard to make findings with respect to the causes of accidents and recommendations for their prevention, and to compile information for use in making statistical reports; except that the accident reports may also be used in the prosecution of the filing of false accident reports. [L 1991, c 272, pt of §2]