Chapter 4: The Legal Requirements of Boating
Boating Accidents and Casualties—What the Law Requires You
To Do
An operator involved in a boating accident must:
- Stop his or her vessel immediately at the scene of the accident and …
- Assist anyone injured or in danger from the accident, unless doing so would seriously endanger his or her own vessel or passengers and …
- Give, in writing, his or her name, address, and vessel identification to anyone injured and to the owner of any property damaged by the accident.
The operator also must:
- Report the accident immediately to the local law enforcement agency and …
- File a New Mexico Boating Accident Report with the State Parks Division within 48 hours of the accident if it caused:
- Death or personal injury that required more than standard first aid or …
- Disappearance of any person under circumstances that indicate the possibility of death or injury or …
- Damage to the vessel(s) or other property exceeding $100.
Accident report forms must be sent to the following address.
The forms are available from this same address or from the office of any state park with a lake.
You may also download
a New Mexico Accident Report from the state
website.
If an official accident report form is not immediately available, the list
of required operator reporting information is found below.
New Mexico Boating Accident Reporting
All the operators or legal representatives of the operators are required,
by law, to report a collision, accident, or other casualty immediately
to a law enforcement agency, allowing officers to undertake an investigation
if needed.
Operator reports are required to be filled out and submitted separately
by each operator involved and within 48 hours of the accident.
What must be reported is any accident or other casualty that involves
any boat that has a death or injury requiring more than standard first
aid or has caused $100 or more in property damage, or involved a
person that has disappeared from a boat, or the vessel has disappeared.
Failure to submit a report may subject the operators involved to a
citation for court appearance.
Submit the information below to:
New Mexico State Parks Division, Boating Safety Section
1220 South St. Francis Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1147
A downloadable formal report form may be found as a pdf on the NM State Parks website or a hard copy may be picked up from any park
office or park boating ranger. For assistance, call 1-888-NM-PARKS.
Each operator's accident report must be in writing, dated upon
completion, and signed by the person who prepared it. It must
contain, if available, at least the following information about the
casualty or accident.
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