Safety preached after recent snowmobile-related deaths

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RCMP have concluded its investigation into the death of a 10-year-old Manitoba boy, saying a fatal collision was on private land where there are no age restrictions for driving a snowmobile as long as there is adult supervision.

Spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre said the RCMP investigation found the boy was driving a 850cc snowmobile, alongside a group of family members, when the throttle got stuck on a property near Rosebank on Dec. 22 at about 7:40 p.m.

“That’s a lot of power for a young child,” said Manaigre on Monday. “You need body size and strength to control the machine.”

RCMP said the snowmobile side-swiped a fence, causing him to lose control and then collide with a tree.

The boy, who was wearing a helmet and other safety equipment at the time, was rushed to hospital where he later died.

Manaigre said it’s a tragedy and the rules for snowmobiles are different on private land.

“If a family has a snowmobile, and they are on their private property, there is no age restriction,” he said. ” You can have a six-year-old drive one, if mom and dad allow it.”

Another recent snowmobile-related fatality involved a 12-year-old girl being thrown from a toboggan that was being pulled near Gods Lake Narrows. Manaigre called it a “freak accident.”

“They probably did this 100 times before and no issues, but this time something got hit … the snowmobile was going 30 to 35 kilometres per hour, which for a snowmobile is slow, but for a toboggan that’s fast,” said Manaigre.

The Mountie said the snowmobile was being driven at the time by a by a 12-year-old boy, on Jan. 10 at about 8 p.m., on a trail near the community when the toboggan, with three passengers, all 12 years of age, hit a tree stump.

He said the girl was thrown, hit a rock, and was rushed to the nursing station suffering life-threatening injuries. She later died.

Manaigre said the incident is still under investigation but, while no adult was present, he doesn’t know if there will ever be charges laid in connection with it.

“At the end, a ticket doesn’t bring anyone back, he said.

Yvonne Rideout, executive director of provincial snowmobiler group Snoman, said anyone under the age of 14 must be supervised by an adult.

She said once riders turn 14, they can ride unsupervised, but anyone who wants to cross a road while driving the machine must have a valid driver’s licence.

Rideout said she sends condolences to the families of the victims.

“It is very unfortunate — we hate seeing that,” Rideout said.

“Riding within your ability is a huge message we send out there.”

Snoman has more than 5,300 members whose membership allows them to use 13,000 kilometres of trails in Manitoba.

MPI spokeswoman Tara Seel said snowmobile owners still have to register their vehicles and get basic insurance before going out on a trail off their own property.

But basic insurance for a snowmobile is different than what you get when you insure other vehicles like a car, truck or motorcycle.

“With basic, you don’t have any coverage for injury or for theft or damage,” she said. “You can get extra coverage if you want to.”

In the wake of the tragedies, Seel said MPI and Snoman would team up Tuesday to promote snowmobile safety, which would include safety demonstrations, including riding on a shared roadway, and showing safety equipment needed by snowmobilers and riders.

“We urge anyone getting on a vehicle to get the training and have all the safety gear,” she said.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca