                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

RESTRICTIONS ON OPERATION; PENALTY (§ 29.1-748)

A. It is unlawful for any person to:

   1. Operate a personal watercraft unless he is at least sixteen years of age,
   except any person fourteen or fifteen years of age shall be allowed to operate
   a personal watercraft if he (i) has successfully completed a boating safety
   education course approved by the Director and (ii) carries on his person,
   while operating a personal watercraft, proof of successful completion of such
   course. Upon the request of a law-enforcement officer, such person shall
   provide proof of having successfully completed an approved course;

   2. Operate a personal watercraft unless he has complied with the provisions of
   &#xA7; 29.1-735.2, regarding board regulations for boating safety education;

   3. Operate a personal watercraft unless each person riding on the personal
   watercraft is wearing a type I, type II, type III, or type V personal
   flotation device approved by the United States Coast Guard;

   4. Fail to attach the lanyard to his person, clothing, or personal flotation
   device, if the personal watercraft is equipped with a lanyard-type engine
   cut-off switch;

   5. Operate a personal watercraft on the waters of the Commonwealth between
   sunset and sunrise;

   6. Operate a personal watercraft while carrying a number of passengers in
   excess of the number for which the craft was designed by the manufacturer; or

   7. Operate a personal watercraft in excess of the slowest possible speed
   required to maintain steerage and headway within fifty feet of docks, piers,
   boathouses, boat ramps, people in the water, and vessels other than personal
   watercraft. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a personal watercraft from
   towing a person with a rope less than fifty feet in length.

B. A violation of any provision of this section shall constitute a Class 4
misdemeanor, except that any person who violates subdivision A 2 shall be
subject to the penalty provided in &#xA7; 29.1-735.2.

C. A violation of this section shall not constitute negligence, be considered in
mitigation of damages of whatever nature, be admissible in evidence or be the
subject of comment by counsel in any action for the recovery of damages arising
out of the operation, ownership, or maintenance of a personal watercraft, nor
shall anything in this section change any existing law, rule, or procedure
pertaining to any such civil action, nor shall this section bar any claim which
otherwise exists.

HISTORY: 1991, c. 320; 1998, cc. 443, 537; 2007, cc. 615, 732.