Want to snowmobile? Take a safety course

LACONIA — While snowmobiling, like other sports, is about having fun, safety is critically important.

“We’re constantly preaching safety,” said Dan Gould, executive of the New Hampshire Snowmobile Association.

So do snowmobile dealers like HK Powersports, which is helping to support a daylong snowmobile safety course that will be held next Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Belknap County Sportsmen’s Association clubhouse on Lily Pond Road (Route 11C), in Gilford.

While such sessions particularly draw youngsters ages 12 through 15 who need a course certificate to ride alone, Russ Davis, who will be running the session, encourages older teens and adults to attend as well.

The free program, which is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., will cover topics such as an orientation to the basics of the machine, how to safely ride along a snowmobile trail, the rules of the road and the importance of dressing properly for all weather conditions. At the end of the day those attending will be given a test covering the day’s information.

Helping Davis with the program will be members of Gilford Fire and Rescue, state Fish and Game, and a representative of HK Powersports.

The hope is that increasing snowmobilers’ knowledge of safe practices will cut down on the number of snowmobile accidents.

Gould noted that the 2017-2018 snowmobile season was the first in recent memory without a fatality in the state.

Most accidents occur either because of excessive speed or because the snowmobiler is inexperienced for the particular trail conditions. Intoxication is much less of a factor in snowmobile accidents, he said.

Of particular note, Gould said 30 percent of accidents take place on rented machines, and there are fewer than 350 snowmobile rentals in the state, he added.

For Davis, teaching these classes is personal. Not only has he been on snowmobiles for most of his life — “I started riding when I was 5 or 6 on my grandfather’s field.” — his father died as the result of a snowmobile accident, when his machine suffered a mechanical malfunction.

“It’s important to let people know that we (instructors) are here for a reason,” Davis said.

In addition to the classroom presentations, there will be snowmobiles for students to examine.

Anyone who wants to register for the class can go to the state Fish and Game website www.wildlife.state.nh.us and click on “OHRV” and then click on “OHRV Safety Education.”