IF SNOWMOBILERS THAT WERE INJURED, DIED OR KILLED SOMEONE ELSE COULD RELIVE THAT DAY, BELIEVE ME, THEY WOULD.

How do the people that see any of this happen make the phone call to a mother or wife and tell them their son or husband is in the hospital or dead? I have written about this before, but we still hear about accidents with injuries and/or fatalities.  From January 1st to today there has already been (8) snowmobile related deaths in Wisconsin. Will these snowmobile fatalities ever stop? NO, THEY WILL NOT. And here is the reason why.

Please DO NOT take this like I’m bashing people that snowmobile. It’s ONLY A HAND FULL of snowmobilers that I’m referring to that ruin it for others because the majority of snowmobilers ride safely and respect others that share our trails. That being said, I have overheard those few snowmobilers bragging about the top speed they hit earlier that day on the trails, or they almost couldn’t make a corner because they were riding too fast.

I know many friends that plan a day snowmobile trip with easily over 150 miles ahead of them. Those days usually start with a group ride to a restaurant for breakfast then riding to a late lunch break location before heading back to their starting point. On the flip side to that, I have been at resorts or local watering holes, where snowmobilers stop after a half hour trail ride to down 4 or 5 drinks not including a few shots before riding 20 minutes to another bar for the next round.

FACT: Too many people ride over their ability.
FACT: Average age of snowmobiler’s deaths is 40 to 50 years old. With ages ranging from teen to 74.
FACT: Most accidents/fatalities happen on corners where snowmobilers leave the trail and collide with a tree.
FACT: Speed contributes to 95% of snowmobile accidents.
FACT: Speed combined with alcohol is the biggest factor in most snowmobile fatalities because their reflexes are much slower to react. HUGE FACT: Last season there were 9 fatalities in Wisconsin with 6 of the 9 speed & alcohol being the factor.

But that being said, there are snowmobilers that come north to ride our trails for hours and put on hundreds of miles each day. Then there’s others that come up to party and might put 30 miles on their sleds riding bar to bar. We refer to them as 10%ers. And again, those 10%ers make the other 90% of snowmobilers look bad.

Seems like we need to ride in a defensive mode, especially around corners. What is the answer to safe snowmobiling? I guess we need to know our alcohol limitation, slow down and pay more attention while on the trails.

What if you want to test your skill and see how fast your sled can go? Wait until you are in an open area, like a long straight away or on a lake where you can see well ahead of your sled. This way, you are only endangering yourself, not others.

ENJOY RIDING ON THE TRAILS, RIDE SAFE AND STAY RIGHT.