|
Snowmobile
safety
Prevent tragedies
by enforcing laws
Snowmobiles are fun, no doubt about it. They're a major
winter recreation activity for thousands of Alaskans, but make no
mistake: They're not toys. Nothing that can speed 100 mph is a toy.
Snowmobiles are Alaska workhorses too, allowing people to travel
quickly and efficiently even in places where there are no roads.
After a winter with 24 snowmobile-related deaths, however, spring
brings a cold, hard look at the machines many people depend on.
This season's toll may not be a one-year aberration. Between 1991
and 1997, 1,038 Alaskans were hospitalized with snowmachine-related
injuries.
What can be done to prevent such tragedies?
More laws that govern adult drivers need not be the first response.
Let's enforce the laws we have. If it takes more money to get troopers
out on snowmobiles in heavily trafficked areas, so be it. It's illegal
to drive while intoxicated or to ride on public roadways.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children younger
than 16 not use snowmachines. That recommendation may not ring true
in a state with as many isolated communities as Alaska has.
There is no law keeping children from driving snowmobiles in Alaska.
But parents who do not recognize the danger of these machines in
the hands of young people whose judgment is not yet developed are
in danger of losing a child - or bringing home a child who may never
be the same after a terrible accident.
When children who aren't yet considered capable of handling a car
are given control of a machine that can go up to 100 mph, something
is wrong.
There are no guarantees of safety on snowmobiles or anywhere else
in life. But there are ways to make the sport safer, and if snowmachine
riders don't want to feel the ever-tightening noose of legal restrictions,
they need to police themselves. Education campaigns that stress
safety, paid for with new snowmachine registration fees, are a good
start.
The Alaska State Snowmobile Association rides in the right direction
with its plans to bring more certified teachers to Alaska to train
others. The goal is to make trail ethics, responsibility and sobriety
the standards in snowmachining.
If Alaskans who have the greatest stake in the free practice of
their sport can make trails safer and riders better without the
force of more law, so much the better.
But Alaska riders should take note of states like Minnesota and
New Hampshire, which had their fill of witless riders and tragic
deaths and turned to tougher rules. If more regulation is what it
takes, eventually Alaska will have it.
Some risk is inherent in recreation and travel in Alaska. But this
many deaths and this many injuries can't just be a matter of blind
misfortune.
Another season of 24 people dead is simply not acceptable.
©2000
Anchorage Daily News
|
