Wisconsin age requirements

[kwikgren]

that's quite the charge there, somewhat insulting and offensive but hey, to each his own!

Sorry to offend, but I'm guessing that you guys can take it. Opinions will always vary, but it never hurts to think about it.

One opinion:
"Know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under 16 years of age should not be permitted to drive a snowmobile, and children under 6 should not even be passengers. Smaller snowmobiles designed for children aren't any safer, as it doesn't change the fact that children still have undeveloped motor skills and field of vision capabilities as compared to an adult."

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_2098904_snowmobile-children.html#ixzz2jaVGFP3R

Another opinion:

"In case you haven’t guessed what I think about this yet, I think it is crap. I think that for a few reasons. The first of which is my parental rights being decided by another. Aside from beating my children and other reasonable leglities, I don’t like that. I don’t like it when other peple tell me how my kids should be raised. Especially people that know little to nothing about my lifestyle. However, I’ve got better reasons, too. I believe that when you start kids young and teach them well they learn well. They learn how to enjoy a sport like snowmobiling and they learn from a responsible adult how to do it safely. At age five my child will listen to me. At age 16 that same child, placed with a high-horsepower sled under his thumb for the first time, will nod impatiently and gun the throttle. Lessons be damned. Kids learn better at an early age. They have more respect for teachers and parents at an early age. And they have more fear of getting hurt. This is somehting you can capitalize on when kids start riding and respecting the ride from a young age. But it’s a window of opportunity that is missed by the time they are teenagers."-

See more at: http://www.skinnymoose.com/sledchix/2008/07/09/should-kids-ride-snowmobiles/#sthash.eEhQMsf5.dpuf

I tend to at least consider the thoughts of the medical community on the issue because they are the ones that have to deal with the carnage that can result from accidents.

My hidden top secret agenda in all of this is to stimulate people to at least think about safety issues from time to time, and hopefully make riding better for everyone. I tend to think that there is always room for improvement, but there will always be those that will insist that the sport has to be a total "free for all" out there.

There are always risks out there, but these high performance extremely heavy weight "toys" are a relatively new phenomenon.

 

[bigduke6]

A certified class is honored by other states. I will add this to the discussion, all classes are not equal. I've been through a couple and the quality of instruction was vastly different. Do a little research before you pick one. I can't blame the instructors because they're volunteering. But in the same regard you want your kid to get the most out of it as possible. I've taught my boys from day one and they earned my trust, but they have to be legal also so you want to have a worthwhile experience in class.

 

[lenny]

I'm not to interested in cut and pastes of crap flying around the net. This is about all I am interested in concerning this topic:

there is no way riding with a child between you and the handlebars or steering wheel can ever be considered even remotely safe, if not criminally negligent operation.

I see no other way to write this but you are full of crap man, I think you can handle that, right!

but wait, some one told you it was not safe and you even quoted from the medical community, the same community that a young girl can go to for an abortion without her parents even knowing. When you allow someone else to tell you what is good for you and your family you may as well just hand your kids over for the world to raise.

 

[kwikgren]

Yes, I can take whatever name-calling you care to engage in. My opinion that riding with an unrestrained child between you and the handle bars of a snowmachine, ATV, or motor cycle is unsafe operation, is not going to change. I feel that there are better options. You have a different opinion, that is fine. But you wearing a leather jacket and me wearing a dress doesn't make you any tougher or smarter. Know that.

 

[Skylar]

As I get older, I realize how pissed I get when someone else tries to tell other people how they should be conducting their lives.

 

[Woodtic]

I was was not going to post on this thread,but the AAP quote cracks me up.A good friend will be taking his young kids snowmobiling this year,for the first time in the UP. This friend is high up in the pecking order at AAP.

 

[reiley99]

As I get older, I realize how pissed I get when someone else tries to tell other people how they should be conducting their lives.

You can say that again!!!!

 

[POLARISDAN]

I also wasn't going to post, but I believe the intent of the 12 year old rule is that kids can ride their own sleds WITH their parents or supervising adults, not just letting them take off on their own with a wave and (hopefully)"see ya later"...

 

[lenny]

Yes, I can take whatever name-calling you care to engage in. My opinion that riding with an unrestrained child between you and the handle bars of a snowmachine, ATV, or motor cycle is unsafe operation, is not going to change. I feel that there are better options. You have a different opinion, that is fine. But you wearing a leather jacket and me wearing a dress doesn't make you any tougher or smarter. Know that.

I have not resorted to name calling, what I did say is that when man steep down and allow others to dictate to them what they should and shouldn't be doing is gonna get it goin, that's all. When men step down than I believe they are not effective as a protector and even worst accident can occur, making the analogy of wearing a skirt, not referring to you specifically at all.

 

[kwikgren]

I agree that in a crisis situation, you sometimes have to throw all of the textbook rules out and being strong, instinctively doing the right thing (hopefully) trumps all.

I also still believe that the apparently novel idea of just following recommended safety guidelines could help to set a good example for beginning riders, and might help reduce accidents. Maybe not, I don't know.

I have certainly partaken in a lot of risky endeavors in my day, and still enjoy activities that would be considered dangerous, if not unsafe, by others. But I'm beginning to realize that some of these hassles like obeying speed limits (or no more than 10 over) really do make things seem a lot safer.

There are no easy answers, and I hope for safe riding for all, especially the younger riders.

 

[SledTL]

I started riding alone way before twelve but that was because we live lakefront and so I learned how to control a machine and really get to understand the horsepower in a safe and open space. Yes my dad has set good examples for us, but you just need to be around the sport. I know there are laws, but if I have been going on trips for the past 18 years of my life I was more than ready to start riding at 12. Just takes judgment that some don't have.

 

[indy_500]

I put on 2815 miles my 12 yr old winter. It is legal to let a <12 yr old drive a sled with a parent on back. I was doing that when I was 8 and been doing laps in the yard on a Indy trail since I was 5. Used to put 500 miles on a year just in my 1 acre yard.

 

[packerlandrider]

I am in the same boat as SledTL and indy_500, I was driving a full size snowmobile way before I turned 12. I feel my dad did a great job providing guidance during that time, and with all the miles he allowed me to drive during that time (~2000 miles before age 12), from what I remember there was very little transition from driving with him behind me to riding by myself.

However, to sort of echo what Sled TL said, there certainly needs to be some judgement by the supervisors. I have been fortunate enough that my parents (dad especially) have had me around the sport all my life, and I think that immersion in "snowmobile culture" plays a huge factor (at least for me it did). Not just driving a snowmobile, but my dad allowed me to help with trail maintenance from a very young age. I think I began tagging along on trail marking days since I was 5-6. How it works in areas of Wisconsin where there are a lot of fields is you need to go and put all the markers back out each fall. Well, by the time I was 9 or 10, my dad had me leading other workers putting in signs (since I had where the trails were to be memorized) while he focused on other aspects of marking trails.

 

[xsledder]

I started when I was 9 riding a '70 Mercury 250 on 160 acre farm in NE IA. Stayed on the farmfield and roadway ditches along the farmfield. Don't now how miles I put on because the sleds I started with only had a fuel gauge (a tube along side the tank), but I know I would fill the tank a few times each ride.

I've let my daughter, at twelve, drive a sled on a detention pond with a friend on the back. They had a good time making circles and figure eights for a hour.

10 years old with a parent on the sled; however, they cannot drive the snowmobile across public roads.

A kid will dicate when their ready. Girls mature faster therefore their ready sooner; my boy is now fourteen and I think he's finally ready for some really good riding with just daddy (if there are no video games around); bigger, stronger, more mature. Safety course is a must.