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Snowmobiles
Some ride them for fun during winter weekends at the cottage. Others ride them to run errands for the family and get around town. The reasons for riding are different, but the dangers are the same. Snowmobiling is fun, but it can also be dangerous, especially for children. Many children are seriously injured each year, sometimes fatally, by operating or riding on a snowmobile.
Snowmobiles are powerful and heavy machines, weighing up to 600 pounds and reaching speeds of more than 100 kilometres per hour. The size and power of snowmobiles make them inappropriate for a child's smaller body size. Manufacturers now make 'kid-sized' snowmobiles but paediatric injury experts warn against using these machines.
Regardless of the size of a child, their motor skills, perception, field of vision, and judgment capabilities are not equal to those of an adult. These differences in development are the reason why we have a legal driving age for motor vehicles on a public road.
Should laws for snowmobiles be different?
Each year in North America snowmobiles cause 200 deaths and 14,000 injuries, with children making up around 40 per cent of these cases. Statistics from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program show that the main causes of child snowmobile-related injuries are losing control of the machine, being thrown off, or colliding with an immobile object, such as a tree or another snowmobile. Children have also been seriously injured as passengers or while being towed behind a snowmobile in a tube or sled.
Although some provinces legally permit children as young as 10 years of age to operate snowmobiles, legislation in Canada and the United States is inconsistent and outdated.
To keep your kids safe, Safe Kids Canada recommends the following:
- Every rider should use a snowmobile helmet on every trip.
- Children under the age of 16 should not drive a snowmobile.
- Children under age six should not ride as passengers on snowmobiles.
- Avoid 'kid-sized' snowmobiles - despite their smaller size. They are still not safe for children's use.
- Snowmobile drivers should receive instruction in the safe operation of their machine by an instructor. Contact your provincial or territorial snowmobile association.
- Ride on trails that enforce rules and promote safe driving.
- Never tow a person behind a snowmobile - this is a high-risk activity.
Safe Kids Canada recommends that you contact your provincial or territorial snowmobile association, Ministry of Transportation, or The Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (506) 387-8960 for more information.
