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Indiana Boating Laws Click here to go to DNR Boating Education course information.
Indiana Boating Laws 1. Following are excerpts from the June 1995 Revision of the subject Rules and Regulations distributed by the Law Enforcement division - Department of Natural Resources, converted to a more understandable format. 2. After July 1,2000 all boats must be equipped with one (1) US Coastguard Approved PFD (Personal Flotation Device) for each person on board and one (1) throwable personal flotation device. 3. All motorboat operators must have a valid driver's license to operate on all public waters. Motorboat operators, who are at least age fifteen (15), and don't have a driver's license may operate if they take a boating safety course and have an I..D. issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). U.S. Coast Guard Aux., U.S. Power Squadron and any other states boater education course certification is accepted by Indiana. 4. Maximum speed with full running lights is ten (10) miles per hour between sunset and sunrise. 5. Boats towing skiers, watersleds, aquaplanes, or similar devices including tubes must have one (1) person operating the boat and one (1) watching the person(s) being towed at all times. 6. No person operating a motorboat less than twenty-one (21) feet in size, shall permit any occupant to sit, stand, or lie on the gunwales except for anchoring, mooring or casting off. (This includes feet hanging over the side of boat and pontoon.) 7. No person shall operate any boat at a rate of speed greater than what is reasonable and prudent. 8. No person operating a motorboat shall approach or pass another boat in a manner, or at a rate of speed, which creates a hazardous wake or wash. 9. A person may not operate a water craft in a manner that unnecessarily endangers the person or property of another person. 10. No person shall operate any motorboat less than two hundred (200) feet off of the shoreline except for the purpose of (a) trolling, or (b) approaching or leaving a dock, pier or shoreline of a lake. 11. A person may not operate a water craft within one hundred and fifty (150) feet of a divers flag. 12. Every motorboat on the waters of Indiana must be registered. The expiration decals, issued by the BMV are renewed every year and must be placed to the right side of and within 3 inches of the current registration numbers. Only the current decals shall be displayed. Registration must be carried on the boat at all times. (This includes out of state boats.) 13. All personal injury accidents must be reported to 911. All property damage accidents over $200.00 need to be reported by calling Communications at 665-3131. 14. Operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can result in the suspension of the operators Indiana drivers license by the BMV and the operator may be given jail time. 15. No operator or passenger of any water craft can throw any kind of litter into or onto the shore of a lake. PERSONAL WATERCRAFT 16. All operators and passengers on Personal Water Craft shall wear a US Coastguard approved life jacket at all times. 17. Personal Water Craft must have self-circling capability or a lanyard cut-off engine switch and this switch must be attached to the operator. 18. Personal Water Craft operators shall not do the following: a) Weave through congested water craft traffic. b) Follow water skiers or any other equipment being towed by a water craft. c) Jump the wake of another water craft. d) Cut between a boat and a person or persons being towed by the boat. e) Steer a Personal Water Craft toward an object o individual in the water. f) Turn sharply at close range. 19. A Personal Water Craft shall not tow an individual unless the Personal Water Craft is at least ten (10) feet long and is designed to seat three (3) people. The seats should be for (a) one operator, (b) one observer, and (c) a seat for the skier when needed. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICE UTILIZATION Though Indiana Law only requires the availability of a life jacket for every passenger, it is reasonable and prudent for the operators of any water craft to require that life jackets be worn at all times by children less than 10 years of age. This is the law in at least one neighboring state (OH). We offer for your consideration the following notice from the Lake Mohawk Newsletter (near Canton, OH) BOATING AND BOOZE Please take these facts into account when on the lake this year. Alcohol Facts: 1) Alcohol is a depressant that slows brain and spinal cord activity and is potentially addicting. 2) Alcohol is present in the systems of one-half of the victims of the 6,500 drownings that occur in the U.S. each year. 3) The possibility of a boating accident after one drink increases threefold. 4) Alcohol is the most abused drug in the U.S. 5) Alcohol is associated with 70% of all drownings. Also remember to have, and to use, Personal Flotation Devices. Up to 85 % of all boating fatalities are due to drownings. Please be safe when on the lake ! And, from the Indiana Conservation Officers News Release, still more . . . Alcohol's effects vary from person to person, generally affecting smaller lighter people more quickly. However, two beers are sufficient to give the average adult male a flushed face, euphoria, and increased but unwarranted, social confidence. For a 200 pound man, three beers is enough to raise the blood alcohol level to qualify as "impaired" under the motor vehicle laws of many states. After consuming a six-pack in an hour, he would be considered legally drunk, and according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, would be seven times as likely to have an accident as someone who has not been drinking.
In boating, impairment can begin after only a drink or two because it affects the coordination, response time and reasoning. Remember, a clumsy mishap on the patio can be an embarrassing, but the same thing in a small boat can be disastrous. Remember, you don't have to be drinking to have a good time on the water. And, if you are drinking, your good time can turn bad, very quickly.
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