2002 Scholarship Winner

Joni Main
Anderson University 

Snowmobile Trail Use and Safety 

            Looking outside the kitchen window you begin to count down the hours to tomorrow evening when you break out your sled for the first good snowfall of the season. As you see humongous snowflakes collecting on the window sill the excitement becomes so intense you hardly sleep.

            Twenty-four hours later and you’re loading up the trailer and headed to the nearest trail for the best possible ride that you have ever had! During your packing, you think of all the essentials including money, warm gear, boots, and the cell phone is case you have any problems. But, in your packing and being excited over the “get away” does trail use and safety ever cross your mind? Most likely not. Trail use and safety has become an issue among snowmobiler’s because the government is starting to restrict areas where they can ride and people are getting hurt more often.

            With the new slogan of “Zero Tolerance I Say, ‘til I’m Done for the Day,” taking affect across the United States many riders are getting the hint that, just like driving a car, it isn’t smart to ride your sled and drink. The slogan is attempting to get the point across to riders that you can still have fun and drink, after you are done riding. However, just as the slogan hits the public, many snowmobiler’s don’t think twice about drinking on the trails. Caught up in the moment of riding and being away from the family, many young men take the trails without considering who else is on the trails with them. I know that many families take their vacations in the winter to enjoy sledding together, some spending two or three weeks away from home. Children enjoy snowmobiling just as much as adults and take to trails with wide-eyed wonder. Someone who is drinking could end that perfect experience for children just because they were careless. The reason that safety on the trails has become more important is because there have been an increase in snowmobile accidents. Innocent people are getting hurt because someone was being reckless and disrespective on the trails. Snowmobiling clubs around the U.S. have taken a stand on this issue and attempted to make snowmobiling more appealing to the public eye and to the government. The clubs came up with the slogan against riding drunk and have started to express their feelings about riders who do drink. Why get all bent out of shape over drinking? Because the government controls where the trails are and how they are used.

            The government has been gracious enough to allow snowmobiler’s to use the National Forest and Parks to ride but, why do they want to slim down the miles that trails cover? Because so many accidents are occurring on the trails and injuring people. Although the government does see that snowmobiling brings money and jobs into states like Indian, Michigan, and Wisconsin they fail to see what the trails do in the non-snowy months for the public.

            Trails have the possibility to be used by the dirt bike kings, 4-wheeling fanatics, and 3-wheeled goers in the spring, summer, and fall months, while at the same time also being used by hikers and bikers. In either case the trails have the possibility of being used year round and generating that much more money for the government, local businesses and states economy. Many children could enjoy their very first summer camps around the trails and have the chance to experience wilderness at it’s finest. One of the most important things in a child’s development is that they explore the world around them. What better way to do then by going trotting around a few trails!

            So the next time that you gear up to take that week long break and ride the trails, smooth from a fresh grooming, make sure that you think about what you are doing. Be aware of the other riders around and what they are doing. The key to keeping yourself safe is to be prepared for the worst! But, the best part is when you return from your trip and are ready to ride the local trials at home, you know, the not so smooth and groomed ones. Consider taking the “only what I ride on during my snowmobile trip” trials for a spin in the summer. Whether it be hiking on them or breaking out the A.T.V. for a weekend of outdoor adventure, make sure that you do it safely and wisely.