Snow on the ground across the province means Manitobans are taking part in popular outdoor activities, including snowmobile riding.
Within two weeks of the first snowfall, however, Manitoba has already seen two snowmobile fatalities — a 48-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of St. Clements, and a 57-year-old man from Portage la Prairie.
In both cases, RCMP investigators said speed was believed to have been a factor.
Yvonne Rideout of Snowmobilers of Manitoba (Snoman) told 680 CJOB that heading out on the trails is all about safety.
“We always tout the line that the best place to ride is on groomed trails,” Rideout said. “So far, there are no trails open in the province, other than Birds Hill Park. We do ask people to stay on the groomed trails and respect landowners — there are over 12,000 kilometres of trails in the province.”
Rideout said a component of safe ridership is making sure you ride within your own abilities, as tempting as it may be to speed around on a powerful machine.
“Speed is a factor in many cases, and we ask everyone to ride within their ability,” she said.
“If you see something coming — if there’s a stop sign coming up, or a caution — you need to be driving at a speed where you can safely stop.
“You can buy a machine that works for you. If you go to a dealership and tell them you’re a new rider, they can recommend a machine that would suit your ability.”
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