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Snowmobile crashes kill 25 this winter
By ROBERT IMRIE
The Associated Press
WAUSAU — Despite a new law enforcement crackdown meant to make Wisconsin's snowmobile trails safer, 25 riders have been killed in crashes so far this winter, a trend that had a state safety expert discouraged Tuesday.
"We are on pace to have another record, and that is not something that is very favorable or we wanted to occur," said Gary Eddy, the Department of Natural Resources' snowmobile education administrator.
Twenty-four fatalities had been recorded as of Monday, two more than at the same time a year ago. The 25th fatality happened Tuesday in Oneida County.
Four of the 25 deaths happened in Oconto County and one occurred in Marinette County.
Last winter, 37 snowmobilers died in crashes — the second highest total since a record 39 people died in crashes during the 1999-2000 winter.
It's unclear why the number of fatalities are up, Eddy said. The conditions for snowmobiling are similar to what they were a year ago, he said.
Scott Makowski of Menomonee Falls, president of the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs, said a proposal to set a statewide 55 mph nighttime speed limit on trails could save lives.
"People like to go fast, and that's part of the problem," he said.
According to Eddy, 20 of the 24 fatal snowmobile crashes as of Monday occurred at night. About 70 percent of the crashes were speed-related, and alcohol was involved in about half of them.
Snowmobiling generally continues until mid-March unless it warms up sooner.
Five snowmobilers were killed Saturday in four different counties, including a man who died after a group of eight snowmobiles piled into each other while traveling at speeds of up to 80 mph in Oconto County, Eddy said.
"They missed a curve in the road and went straight," he said. "Obviously, they were going way too fast to see that turn."
According to the DNR, 265 snowmobilers have been killed in Wisconsin during the last 10 years, an average of 27 a year.
Because of the carnage on the trails last year, the DNR created a special team of 12 wardens with six snowmobiles to patrol areas known for snowmobile accidents. The patrols have been assigned to five different counties so far — Iron, Oconto, Oneida, Sawyer and Vilas.
The patrols are discouraging drinking and driving, Eddy said.
The wardens report more people "rather than riding their snowmobiles home from the tavern, they are walking to their nearby hotels," he said. "It is having the desired effect that people are thinking before operating their snowmobiles while intoxicated."
But Mike Cerny, chairman of the Governor's Recreation Snowmobile Council, said the targeted enforcement hasn't worked as well as some planners had hoped.
Advocates for safer trails will have to look at other options, including sobriety checkpoints, Cerny said.
"We got a lot of laws on the books and a lot of them are good. But I am not sure we got enough enforcement out there to do the job," he said.
Rodney Halbleib of Oshkosh, president of Snowmobilers Against Drunk Riders Inc., said he wasn't surprised to hear about the number of fatalities.
"They are unnecessary deaths. Every one of those could have been prevented," he said. "They are not all alcohol related. Some are inexperience. There are some people dropping out of snowmobiling because of the recklessness on the trails."
Meanwhile, legislation is stalled in the state Senate that would put a 55 mph nighttime speed limit on snowmobile trails.
After the 1999-2000 winter, Wisconsin had a one-year trial run with the speed limit, and fatalities dropped to 26, Eddy said.
The speed limit is an "important enforcement tool" for cutting down crashes, he said.
Iron County, a popular snowmobiling destination in northern Wisconsin, enacted its own 50 mph nighttime speed limit and has had one fatal accident this year, Eddy said. Neighboring Vilas County has had six snowmobiling fatalities, he said.
As of Tuesday. Snowmobiling generally continues until mid-March unless unseasonably warm weather ruins the trails.
Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
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