Photo from OPP.
The Ontario Provincial Police and Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs are promoting the importance of safe snowmobiling.
It’s Snowmobile Safety Week, but there have already been four fatalities this winter.
OPP Snowmobile Coordinator Sgt. Paul Beaton says they could have been avoided.
“Looking at some causation such as alcohol and drugs, operating on thin ice, being aware of your ability as a rider. These are all preventable collisions, and they are tragic, says Sgt. Beaton.
Officials also ask snowmobilers to avoid closed trails as time is needed to get groomers out to make them safe.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says those trails could still be dangerous.
“Before those trails are groomed, there could be logs that have fallen, trees that fallen. There could be unexpected hazards. Do not be driving and riding on close trails,” says Sgt. Schmidt.
Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club’s Chief Executive Officer Ryan Eickmeier says it’s vital that snowmobilers ride safely and responsibly.
“It means staying within the speed limit, riding to your ability and not beyond it and ensuring that all of your partners that are with you that day are doing the same. It is a shared responsibility for us to stay safe and keep our trails available,” says Eickmeier.
Police note that over the past ten years, driving too fast for the conditions has been the leading cause of OPP-investigated snowmobile deaths.
Alcohol/Drugs were a factor in almost half of the fatalities.
Forty per cent of the deaths occurred on frozen waterways.
