Posted by Greg Atwood on November 20, 2017 · Leave a Comment
Having the opportunity to write for this amazing website has given me the opportunity to bring awareness to a wide range of topics which mostly come from experiences I have had responding to calls here in south Florida at my fire department. What I would like to speak out today is something I have NO experience with, Snowmobiles. I want to cover this because while planning a family ski trip I kept seeing snowmobiling as a thing to do and wanted to know more and how I can relate to them. What I found is that snow mobiles are ATV’s on snow. I wanted to compare the two. I looked at size, weight, speed, passenger room, and of course injuries, and here is what I found.
- Both are gas powered.
- Both have “dry weights” that can be 300lbs or higher!
- Both can reach speeds well over 50 mph with some snowmobiles going well beyond that.
- Both come in single or multi-passenger models.
- Both have varying laws about operating age depending on the state you are in.
- Both have caused fatal injuries to all age groups with snowmobiles having drowning added to its list.
- Both list striking stationary objects such as trees as a major factor in accidents.
- Both have leading causes of non-fatal injuries listed as head, neck, and face injuries.
- Both list leading causes of head trauma due to a lack of proper helmet protection.
- Both list excessive speed as a contributing factor in many accidents.
- Both are susceptible to hidden dangers in the mud or snow respectively.
Having looked at all these factors, I found that snow mobiles are no different SAFETY wise than ATV’s. Yes driving on snow offers some obvious differences but the safety aspects are the SAME.
SNOWMOBILE vs. ATV: SAFETY FEATURES
- Both are not recommended to be driven by anyone under 16 years of age.
- Both should always be ridden with a proper helmet and any extra safety restraints when available.
- Both should be ridden with reflective gear that can be seen at night.
- Both should be driven cautiously and preferably by experienced drivers.
- Both weigh a lot and require strength to drive properly.
- Both should be driven away from bystanders and other traffic as to avoid collisions.
- Both should be given the respect they deserve as powerful machines.
Having said all this and hopefully made you aware of how safety is similar in many recreational machines, I do not wish to discourage you from going out and riding these machines, I just want you to do it safely.
Good luck and stay warm.
