Snowmobile Safety Week will commence on January 15, 2022, following the announcement by the snowmobile community that the annual event will aim at promoting safe snowmobile practices and demonstrating how safe operations of snowmobiles can help prevent hazards.
Snowmobiling is a fun and exciting recreation that families across the United States and Canada can enjoy, especially during the winter. It is a safe and enjoyable sport when done properly with the right snowmobile safety measures.
Snowmobilers play an important role in raising economic revenue during the winter, as many travelers from across the country spend over $2000 on food, gas, hotels, and travel expenses to snowmobiling spots.
The sport is mostly relished in the winter, with many snowmobiling clubs converging and organizing tours and mini-events around this time every year.
Snowmobile clubs and associations sponsor safety-related coaching and orientation events around the International Snowmobile Safety and Awareness Week. The activities in this safety campaign involve exposing people to snowmobile safety tips that promote safe and responsible snowmobiling.
Here are a few Snowmobile safety tips you should keep in mind:
Snowmobile Safety Tips
1. Never Consume Alcohol/Drugs During Or Before Snowmobiling
Just like every other safety procedure involving handling heavy machinery, the use of alcohol and consumption of hallucinogenic drugs is highly prohibited when going snowmobiling.
Alcohol is known to repress the central nervous system, impair vision, affect one’s judgment and extensively reduce the reaction time. Just as one would not consider hitting the back of their car wheels while drinking, you should never take the risk of riding a snowmobile while or after drinking or even taking a snowmobile ride from a drunk rider.
Overspeeding, excessive alcohol consumption and unfamiliarity with snow terrains are usually the major cause of snowmobile crashes; hence riders are advised to stay safe and abstain from alcohol and hard drugs while riding snowmobiles.
2. Maintain A Safe Speed
Riding at excessive speed is another leading cause of mishaps during snowmobile rides. As the saying goes, “Speed thrills, but it also kills.”
Overspeeding is the major cause of accidents, injuries, and snowmobiling deaths. Snowmobile riders are advised to avoid putting themselves and other riders in danger by maintaining reasonable speed limits and ensuring full control of their snowmobiles while taking a ride.
As a rule of thumb, your speed should be minimal enough to allow you to respond to changing trails or terrain conditions safely. Ensure you keep to the stipulated speed limits on trails and roads.
Also, install the Silent Beacon safety app, but more importantly, connect the app to your Silent Beacon wearable personal safety device. So, even if you or other snowmobile riders get involved in an accident, you’ll be able to call for help quickly using the panic button feature.
3. Use Extra Caution When Riding A Snowmobile At Night
Driving an automobile at night is generally accompanied by poor lighting, and sometimes the rider’s vision can be impaired by fog that could occur during the winter. Therefore, snowmobile riders must take extra caution while using a snowmobile at night.
Most snowmobile fatalities, statistically nine out of ten cases, occur at nightfall. Furthermore, reduced visibility caused by darkness at night makes it difficult to quickly spot potential hazards or changes in trail or terrain conditions when snowmobiling. Ultimately, it is advised to drive at lower speeds at night.
If you get lost during the night, it’s preferred to just stop and press the Silent Beacon panic button to share your location with the emergency squad back at the base camp.
4. Keep Your Snowmobile Properly Serviced And Maintained
Ensure to run a safety check on all snowmobile parts every morning before taking it out for a spin. Every automobile requires frequent readiness checks and maintenance to ensure safe and uneventful operation.
Performing rigorous checks and tests on every snowmobile part are required before operation. Snowmobile owners and riders are required to check the brakes, transmission, tracks, and chain cases before using the snowmobile. Further checks on the belts, brake fluids, suspension, clutches, and batteries are also required to ensure safe operation while snowmobiling.
5. Check For Weather News Updates Before You Leave
One major factor in using a snowmobile during the winter is the weather conditions around that period. Weather changes in temperature and wind can easily cause avalanches and directly affect the slopes in trails and snow terrains.
Snow meltdowns due to an increase in temperature can easily cause an avalanche, and such conditions are not safe for anyone to be around at the time. Snowmobile users are advised to always stay up-to-date on weather conditions around the area by listening for weather forecast news and adhering to them.
Please Note: In the case of an emergency or accident due to riders trapped in an avalanche or unfavorable weather conditions, snowmobile riders can use the panic button on the Silent Beacon device to send multiple distress signals to emergency contacts and inform them about their location in real-time.
6. Use Proper Snowmobile Protection Gear
Using the proper snowmobile equipment and headgear can help protect the rider from serious injuries in the event of a crash or snowmobile accident. The snowmobile helmet is designed to protect the rider’s head and face from a crash, falling tree branches, fog, and even flying objects.
Snowmobile users are advised to always put on their full gear, including knees and shoulders paddings, helmets, and gloves, to ensure full body protection before going for a ride.
Ensure that the helmet fits properly and is fastened tightly and always replace faulty helmets and old ones every five years. Another benefit of using adequate body gears while snowmobiling is that it protects the body from cold and retains body heat, with some helmets being designed with defrosters to resist and reduce fogging and promote visibility.
7. Avoid Traveling On Unfamiliar Frozen Bodies Of Water
Riding a snowmobile on ice is considered to be potentially dangerous and has led to many casualties. Essentially, it is required to avoid riding the snowmobile on frozen bodies of water that one is not familiar with.
Snowmobile users should always check for the thickness of the ice but also stay careful during rides as ice does not form uniformly over a body of water. Make sure you put on float coats and other protective gear before performing any activities on the ice. Weather conditions like temperature can also affect the thickness of the ice, so it is also essential to double-check the weather forecast during the day.
