198 LAWS OF MARYLAND [CH. 69

9. BOATING ACCIDENTS

(a) Whenever any vessel operating upon the waters of Maryland
is involved in an accident, it shall be the duty of the operator, so
far as he can do so without serious danger to his own passengers,
guests, crew, himself or his vessel, to render to all other persons
affected by the accident such assistance as may be practicable and
as may be necessary in order to save them from or to minimize any
danger caused by the accident. He shall also give his name, address,
and identifying information regarding his vessel, to any person in-
jured or to the owner of any property damaged in the accident.

(b) Whenever an accident involves any vessel subject to this
Article and results in the death, disappearance, or injury of any
person, or in property damage in excess of One Hundred Dollars
($100. 00), the operator or operators thereof shall file, with the De-
partment of Tidewater Fisheries, a full description of the accident,
including such information as that Department may by regulation
require, within the times required in sub-section (d) of this section.

(e) Whenever any vessel numbered in the State is involved in
an accident upon waters other than the waters of this State, and the
accident results in the death, disappearance or injury of any person,
or in property damage exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100. 00)
the operator shall, within 30 days thereof, file a complete report with
the Department of Tidewater Fisheries including such information
as that Department may, by regulation, require. Nothing herein
shall be construed to exempt or excuse any operator from the re-
quirements of any laws or regulations of any other State or nation
having jurisdiction over the waters in which the accident occurs.
Furthermore, no accident reporting requirement in the law or regu-
lations of any other State or nation shall exonerate or excuse any
failure of the operator of a vessel numbered in this State to report
the accident in Maryland as prescribed.

(d) All boating accidents within the meaning of this Article
which occur on the waters of Maryland shall be reported within
forty-eight (48) hours of the happening thereof, if said accident has
caused the death or the disappearance of any person; all other re-
portable boating accidents that may result in personal injury or
property damage shall be reported within five (5) days.

(e) The report of a boating accident herein required to be made
shall not, during any judicial proceeding, be referred to in any way;
it shall not be subject SUBJECT to subpoena nor admissible as evi-
dence in any proceeding. Subject to these restrictions, information
contained in a boating accident report and any statistical information
based thereon will be made available upon request for official pur-
poses to the United States Coast Guard and any federal agency suc-
cessor thereto.

10. The Department of Tidewater Fisheries and the Department
of Game and Inland Fish jointly shall provide regulations for their
respective jurisdictions to govern the following:

(a) Kinds of numbers to be used and how to be displayed on boats;
the numbering to conform to the federal numbering system.

(b) Issuance of certificates of title and cards of identification
for owners.