Staying Safe While Snowmobiling

It’s winter in Ontario, and for thousands of people that means it’s snowmobiling season. Snowmobiling is extremely popular in our province, and with over 30,000 km of trails, it’s not hard to understand the appeal.

However, there is a dark side to this passtime, and that is the potential for severe injury and death when safety isn’t taken seriously. The Ontario Provincial Police and Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs recently held their jointly-sponsored Ontario Snowmobile Safety Week and shared two sobering statistics:

  • There have been seven snowmobiling fatalities since the beginning of this season
  • Three of those seven victims died as a result of falling through ice

This video on snowmobiling safety in Ontario shares several key ways to be a safer rider: get trained, wear your helmet, stay on trail, and do it sober with no alcohol or drugs.

Be sure to also follow these additional snowmobile safety tips from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

A few years ago, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that two-thirds of serious snowmobile injuries occurred in adults ages 20 to 49. In 2014-2015, there were 235 hospitalizations in Ontario due to snowmobile accidents. And Maclean’s magazine reports that “as many as 50 people die in snowmobile accidents annually in Ontario and Quebec alone”.

Don’t be a statistic. If snowmobiling is a passion of yours, play it safe and do it right.