Vermont Statutes Title 23 Sec. 3317
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 23 Sec. 3317
- Commissioner: means Commissioner of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated. See
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Department: means Department of Motor Vehicles unless otherwise stated. See
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Law enforcement officer: means a person designated in subdivision 4(11) of this title and includes deputy State game wardens and auxiliary State Police officers. See
- Marine toilet: means any toilet on or within any vessel except those that have been permanently sealed and made inoperative. See
- Motorboat: means any vessel equipped with machinery capable of propelling the vessel, whether or not such machinery is the principal source of propulsion. See
- Operate: includes an attempt to operate and shall be construed to cover all matters and things connected with the presence and use of snowmobiles whether they be at motion or rest. See
- Operator: shall include all persons 18 years of age or over properly licensed to operate motor vehicles. See
- Owner: means a person, other than a lienholder, having the property in or title to a vessel. See
- Person: means an individual, partnership, firm, corporation, association, or other entity. See
- Personal watercraft: means a class A vessel that uses an inboard engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and that is designed to be operated by an individual or individuals sitting, standing, or kneeling on or being towed behind the motorboat rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the vessel. See
- Privilege to operate: includes the privilege of a nonresident to operate a motor vehicle within the State and includes the privilege of a resident to obtain a license. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water or a racing shell or rowing scull occupied exclusively by individuals over 12 years of age, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See
§ 3317. Penalties
(a) Penalty; $50.00 maximum. A person who violates any of the following sections of this title shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $50.00 for each violation:
| § 3303 | unnumbered boat | |
| § 3305(a) | unregistered boat | |
| § 3305(d) | old registered certificate to be returned | |
| § 3305(e) | compliance with federal motorboat ID system | |
| § 3305(h) | change of address | |
| § 3305(i) | incorrect number displayed on boat | |
| § 3305(j) | temporary registration | |
| § 3305a(a) | qualified person may operate | |
| § 3305a(c) | underage operation | |
| § 3305(b) | operating without boat certificate | |
| § 3306(a)-(d) and (g) | lights and equipment | |
| § 3307a | documented boat validation sticker | |
| § 3308 | boat rental records | |
| § 3309 | muffling device | |
| § 3311(c) | distance requirements | |
| § 3311(d) | underwater historic preserve area | |
| § 3311(e) | overloaded vessel | |
| § 3311(h)-(i) | authority of law enforcement officer | |
| § 3312 | rules between vessels | |
| § 3313(b) | failing to file report | |
| § 3315(a) | water ski observer | |
| § 3315(c) | improper ski towing | |
| § 3316 | boat races |
(b) Penalty or fine; $300.00 or $1,000.00 maximum. A person who violates a requirement under 10 V.S.A. § 1454 shall be subject to enforcement under 10 V.S.A. § 8007 or 8008 or a fine under this chapter, provided that the person shall be assessed a penalty or fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each violation. A person who violates a rule adopted under 10 V.S.A. § 1424 shall be subject to enforcement under 10 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 201, provided that the person shall be assessed a penalty of not more than $300.00 for each violation. A person who violates any of the following sections of this title shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $300.00 for each violation:
| § 3306(e) | marine toilet | |
| § 3312a | operation of personal watercraft |
(c) Fine; $300.00 maximum. A person who violates any of the following sections of this title shall be imprisoned not more than three months or fined not more than $300.00, or both, for each violation:
| § 3305a(b) | operating privilege suspended | |
| § 3311(a) | careless and negligent operation | |
| § 3311(b) | permitting use by intoxicated person | |
| § 3311(f) | attempting to elude a law enforcement officer | |
| § 3311(g) | residential vessel prohibited | |
| § 3313(a) | leaving scene of crash |
(d) Boating while intoxicated; privilege suspension. Any person who is convicted of violating section 3323 of this title shall have his or her privilege to operate a vessel, except a nonmotorized canoe and a nonmotorized rowboat, suspended for a period of one year and until the person complies with section 1209a of this title.
(e) Boating while intoxicated; criminal penalty. Any person who violates a provision of section 3323 of this title shall be imprisoned for not more than one year and subject to the following fines:
(1) for a first offense, not less than $200.00 nor more than $750.00; and
(2) for a second or subsequent offense, not less than $250.00 nor more than $1,000.00.
(f) Boating while intoxicated; death or serious bodily injury resulting.
(1)(A) If the death of any person results from the violation of section 3323 of this title, the person convicted shall, instead of any other penalty imposed in this section, be imprisoned not less than one year nor more than 15 years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both; but the provisions of this section shall not be construed to limit or restrict prosecutions for manslaughter.
(B) If the death of more than one person results from a violation of section 3323 of this title, the operator may be convicted of a separate violation of this subdivision for each decedent.
(2)(A) If serious bodily injury, as defined in 13 V.S.A. § 1021(2), results to any person other than the operator from a violation of section 3323 of this title, the person convicted of the violation shall be fined not more than $5,000.00 or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.
(B) If serious bodily injury as defined in 13 V.S.A. § 1021(2) results to more than one person other than the operator from a violation of section 3323 of this title, the operator may be convicted of a separate violation of this subdivision for each person injured.
(g) Defective, stolen, or fraudulently registered motorboat; registration revocation or suspension. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or his or her authorized agent may suspend or revoke the registration of any motorboat registered in this State and repossess the number and certificate to it, when he or she is satisfied that:
(1) a motorboat has been stolen and that the registrant has not legal title; or
(2) a motorboat is in such poor mechanical or structural condition as to make it unseaworthy; or
(3) a motorboat is operated without proper equipment after the owner has been notified to procure and use such equipment as is required by law or Department rules; or
(4) the owner of a motorboat has perpetrated some fraud upon the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(h) More than two violations; education program required. Any person convicted of more than two boating violations concerning the operation of, or safety equipment on, a vessel within a two-year period shall, in addition to penalties provided for in this section, have his or her privilege to operate a vessel on the waters of this State suspended until the person has successfully completed the boating safety education program provided in section 3305b of this title. A person shall also be required to complete the program if convicted of careless or negligent operation or of operation under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The requirements of this subsection apply regardless of whether a person has completed the education program one or more times. (Added 1983, No. 212 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1985, No. 90, § 7, eff. May 30, 1985; 1989, No. 65, § 11; 1999, No. 42, § 3, eff. May 25, 1999; 2003, No. 121 (Adj. Sess.), § 70, eff. June 8, 2004; 2007, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 2009, No. 30, § 3; 2015, No. 61, § 11, eff. June 17, 2015; 2017, No. 67, § 6, eff. June 8, 2017; 2017, No. 71, § 29, eff. June 8, 2017; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 241; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 429, eff. July 1, 2022.)