Snowmobiling deaths decline in Ontario
TheStar.com - News - Snowmobiling deaths decline in
Ontario
March 18, 2007 Geoff Nixon; Canadian press
As another winter season nears its end, an encouraging
trend has emerged in Ontario over the last 10 years – the number
of snowmobile fatalities appears to be on the decline.
From a high of 47 deaths in 1997 to just 17 so far
this year, the numbers suggest snowmobile enthusiasts are getting
the message about how to enjoy their sport safely, experts say.
That means staying on the province's established trail
system – something experts say is the single most important safety
tip for the winter sledding set.
"The general knowledge out there . . . is that
90 per cent of accidents and deaths occur off-trail," said Jerry
Curtis, a snowmobiler and writer in Mossbank, Sask., who blogs about
snowmobiling in Quebec, Ontario and Western Canada.
Away from the trails that are approved and sponsored
by snowmobile clubs, there's "a whole plethora of things"
to be wary of while riding, including fences, rocks and other unseen
hazards, Curtis said.
"By and large, most serious accidents are off-trail,
or they were on the trail and they ran off the trail," agreed
Kevin Kerrivan, president of the Kawartha Lakes Snowmobile Club in
Fenelon Falls, Ont.
Bill Harrison, manager of safety and public education
for the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs, said he thinks people
ride off-trail because they can do what they want.
"The vast, vast majority of snowmobilers in this
province are safety-conscious, responsible citizens who take it seriously
and take accountability for their own actions," Harrison said.
Approved trails have enforced speed limits and safe
riding requirements, he added.
"The people that you hear about are those people
who make bad decisions."
In Ontario, Harrison said, there have been only five
fatalities among the 150,000 registered riders travelling 40,000 kilometres
of OFSC-patrolled trails in the last two years.
The rest of the deaths have been off-trail, in places
where people had little supervision or rules to guide their activities.
By law, Ontario riders must have either a driver's
licence or a motorized snow vehicle operator's licence – both
of which are granted by the Ministry of Transportation – as well
as a trail permit in order to drive a snowmobile.
Permits are sold by individual snowmobile clubs; the
revenue goes towards funding OFSC trails.
Ministry spokesman Bob Nichols said in an email that
the government believes these trail permit programs "attract
riders to ride on groomed, signed trails where they are safer."
There's another danger that emerges as balmy spring
weather approaches, said Harrison: sledders who venture out as ice-covered
lakes begin to thaw.
Two near-miss plunges in Ontario in recent days –
one on Oxtongue Lake in the Algonquin Park area, the other on Lake
Simcoe near Barrie, Ont. – serve as a pointed reminder of the
perils of spring sledding.
"Stay off the ice," Harrison said. "Guys
who go down (through the ice) certainly regret that decision."
