§5503. Accident reports.

(a) Duty to file.--In case of a watercraft accident on the waters of this Commonwealth, the operator of each watercraft involved in the accident shall submit a written accident report to the commission within the time prescribed and containing such information as may be required by regulation. If an operator of a watercraft is physically incapable, as a result of the accident, of making a report, the report shall be made by the owner of the watercraft or the investigating official, in that order. The investigating official will only sign this report when the others are not available.

(b) Confidentiality.--All reports of watercraft accidents shall be considered privileged and shall be filed without prejudice to the person filing the report. The reports shall be for the information of the commission and shall not be open for public inspection except as provided in this section.

(c) Admissibility in evidence.--The fact that the reports have been made shall be admissible in evidence only to prove compliance with the requirements of this section. No report or any part thereof or any statement contained therein shall be admissible in evidence for any other purposes in any civil or criminal trial arising out of the accident.

(d) Furnishing abstracts.--The commission shall, upon request, furnish any person a certified abstract of the accident report. The abstract shall be limited to the date, time, location, weather conditions, names and addresses of the operators, passengers and witnesses and description of the watercraft involved in the accident.

(e) Penalties.--Any person who fails to file a completed accident report required by this section commits a summary offense of the second degree. Any person who files a report beyond the time limits prescribed by regulation or without providing all the material information required by regulation commits a summary offense of the third degree.

(Nov. 3, 1999, P.L.447, No.41, eff. Jan. 1, 2000)

Notation

1999 Amendment.  Act 41 amended subsec. (e).