Snowmobile Speed Limits

A detailed Summary of Snowmobile Speed Limits

Snowmobile Speed Limits Will Hurt, Not Help

There is a lot of talk in Augusta about posting speed limits on Maine's snowmobile trails. Lobbyists, politicians, and game wardens think that introducing speed limits is a reasonable way to prevent fatalities and accidents that occur each year on snowmobiles. There are less severe measures that can be taken to control the death toll. Imposing this law wouldn't shun away all snowmobilers, but enough to hurt the state's economy considerably, which in turn hurts you, the taxpayer.

This year 96, 921 snowmobiles were registered in the state of Maine. That's over $3 million in registration revenues alone. 24% of these registrations come from out of state vacationers who enjoy this great sport. (Registration and Revenue). The number of out of state registrations would decrease dramatically if the state enforced a speed limit. This is important because the non-residents pay twice what the residents do. In essence, their participation in the sport is twice as valuable from a financial standpoint.

There have been ten deaths to date this year on snowmobiles. Only two of these deaths have occurred on the trail. The eight accidents that didn't occur on the trail were on lakes or

Snowmobile clubs have worked very hard to maintain the 12,000 miles of trails statewide and improve on safety. Safety classes are held all winter and are easily accessible by even the busiest of people. These classes touch upon the importance of using hand signals and issues such as drinking and driving (Ride Right In Maine). Safety is of huge importance, but speed limits are not the answer to this problem. Mandatory safety classes are a more realistic concept. Citizens need to take classes to drive a car and to carry a gun in the woods, so why not do the same for snowmobiles? Snowmobilers would be much more supportive of this less drastic solution. The difference is that mandatory safety classes would be viewed as a requirement, whereas laws would be viewed as restrictions. It's a much less confrontational approach to the safety issue, yet there would be more cooperation and equally effective, if not more effective results.

New Hampshire enforced speed limits on their trails in the fall of 1996. The law states that the speed limit for operating a snowmobile on all trails is 45 miles per hour (N.H. OHRV Laws). I used to ride in New Hampshire when I was a kid. Since these laws came into effect, I have not been back. A lot of these trails are extremely wide and groomed to perfection. I do not ride my sled out of control, but I don't want to go 45 miles per hour down the old railroad bed in Rangeley. That section of trail is straight and flat. It's like cruising down the Maine Turnpike. Many of the trails that I used to ride in New Hampshire are the same way. New Hampshire succeeded in

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Approximate Word count = 1088
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Sports