Mid-season snowmobile safety reminder

Snowmobile accidents and crashes over the weekend in the Lakeland area are prompting law enforcement and officials with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to remind snowmobilers about safety while riding the trails.

While none of the incidents resulted in fatalities there were injuries.

On Friday, Jan. 30, a 7-year-old child from Illinois who was a passenger on a snowmobile and had fallen off the machine after it hit a tree in Hazelhurst, was reported to be walking around but disoriented after the incident. 

The child was taken to Marshfield Medical Center for treatment. 

The next day,another snowmobile crash involved a 25 year-old pregnant woman from Prairie du Sac who’s 2016 Ski-Doo hit a tree.

Again, there were no serious injuries but the woman was cared for by ambulance personnel at the scene before it was determined she wouldn’t need to go to a hospital. 

About an hour later, authorities received the report of a snowmobile hitting a trail groomer also on a trail near Cedar Falls Road.

That incident resulted in a broken arm for the snowmobile operator who was taken by ambulance to Howard Young Medical Center.

Chris Bartelt, Woodruff team lieutenant for the DNR’s Division of Public Safety and Resource Protection, told The Lakeland Times that after a couple winters with well below-aver-age snow conditions, “we’re heading into the eighth weekend of the 2025-26 snowmobile season up here in Oneida and Vilas counties.”

“This makes it a great time to freshen up on not only Wisconsin’s snowmobile laws but important safety considerations as well,” he said. “While snowmobiling is both a relaxing and an adrenaline-inducing pastime, it can be dangerous if riders aren’t careful.”

Bartelt said there have been seven fatalities across Wisconsin this season.

“While the season average is often higher than that, even one fatality is one too many,” he said. “It’s well known that alcohol and other drugs can slow reaction time and impair judgement but this is amplified on a snowmobile when factors such as cold weather, engine noise and fatigue from a day of riding are included.”

Bartelt said there are “dozens of great establishments in this area”  but also said if riders “would wait until they were done with their ride to enjoy a drink, it would greatly reduce not just the number of crashes we see but the number of fatalities as well.”

“We urge riders to operate with zero alcohol or other substances in their system because any kind of impairment can have tragic consequences,” he said. “When it comes to our fatal crashes, speed is another top factor. Modern snowmobiles are incredible machines capable of very high speeds but just because a snowmobile will go fast doesn’t mean it has to be driven fast. Riders should always stay within the limits of their skills and abilities — not only will this protect them, but it will protect others enjoying the trails as well.”

Bartelt said locally, another issue has been the number of stop sign violations by snowmobile riders. 

“State law requires that snowmobile operators come to a complete stop at stop signs, looking both ways before proceeding across the road or through the intersection,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have had our fair share of fatal snowmobile crashes in the area over the past few years when operators failed to do this.  Stop sign violations are something the wardens in the area actively look for because we’ve seen firsthand the devastation it causes for families when someone doesn’t take the extra time to stop and look.”

Another item stressed, Bartelt said and especially when he or other DNR personnel give talks at local snowmobile safety courses, is safety on the ice.

“We’re blessed with many lakes in this part of Wisconsin and they can be beautiful surfaces to explore via snowmobile,” he said. “However, we’ve lost snowmobilers because they didn’t know where they were on the ice, didn’t check the conditions or didn’t have the right gear to be on the ice in the first place.”

Bartelt said in addition to closely monitoring conditions, DNR wardens all wear “some kind of floatation equipment when operating on the ice.”  “We also carry icepicks, secured in an easily accessible pocket, so that should we find ourselves in the water, we have a way to get back out,” he said. “If riders are going to be on the ice, investing in some insulated clothing with floatation and a set of ice picks is a must.”

Bartelt urged snowmobile riders to remember “to be a good neighbor and a good guest when on the trails.”

“Many of our trails cross private lands and it is through the good will of these landowners that the local clubs are able to maintain these trails,” he said. “Staying on marked trails and keeping machines quiet (not modifying a snowmobile’s exhaust to make it louder) help to keep these trails open.”

Bartelt said “we’re headed” into another Sled Safe education and enforcement weekend.

“Wardens and other officers will be out on the trails and along the routes patrolling to share safety tips with riders and watch for operators who may be impaired or causing safety problems for themselves and others,” he said. “Please have fun and more importantly, stay safe.”

Speed biggest factor

Jason Molle, a deputy with the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office and the county’s recreation officer, echoed Bartelt; he responded to a head-on crash involving two snowmobiles in the Sayner area on Friday, Jan. 30, that resulted in at least one person taken to a hospital. 

“We see the same stuff every year,” he said. “A vast majority of the accidents are due to speed, obviously alcohol is a factor in some of them and experience is a factor in others. Those are the three biggest factors but speed plays a factor in almost every one of them.”

In fact, while he was at the accident scene in Sayner on Jan. 30, he said there was another snowmobiler that came around the corner involved in the head-on crash “who almost smashed right into us.”

“They had to lock it up and barely stopped in time because they were going too fast, couldn’t handle that corner, we were around the corner and they were going to into us. Just drive reasonably. Driving the proper speeds would eliminate a lot of the problem. I know that’s a stupid-sounding, easy solution but it really is a solution.”

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].