Snowmobile accidents continuing in the U.P.

ISHPEMING  — There have been several accidents, injuries and fatalities across the U.P. and in the state of Michigan involving snowmobiling.

ABC 10’s Danielle Davis went out to the snowmobile trails to talk with riders to find out what is happening out on the trails.

“Mike, I am here at the snowmobile trails in Ishpeming and these snowmobilers tell me that they are not surprised at the amount of accidents and fatalities out on the trails,” reports Davis.

Riders say while snowmobiling is fun and some say they can do it everyday the reality of the danger often hits home everytime a fatality happens. They say one of the reasons is due to reckless and inexperienced driving. They say it’s not complicated to be a cautious driver.

“Make sure than any corner you can’t see around that you slow down. Make sure that you stay on your side of the trail and if you are riding in groups that everyone can see one another. When you see a sled coming everyone in the group needs to see that it is coming as well. Slow down on blind corners and everyone will stay alive.”

The second reason snowmobilers say the trails can be dangerous is due to poor and confusing signage.

“A lot of corners and stop signs don’t give you ample warning to let you know what is coming up. Signs were actually telling you to go to the left but you had to go to the right, then the left. You have stop signs that aren’t marked or there was no stop ahead and all of a sudden a stop sign pops out of nowhere. A few thousand dollars of trail signs could go a long way in preventing accidents ” continued Wilson.

The United States Forest Service is taking action and making sure that all trails have physical as well as virtual maps.