Officials say fewer trail signs lead to fewer accidents
MARQUETTE -- Ninety percent of snowmobile accidents are speed related, according to the Snowmobile Advisory Council.
In an effort to slow riders down, the D.N.R., surprisingly, is recommending that the number of warning signs on the trails be reduced.
"It's giving the rider the feeling of dependency, where they're dependent on those signs so they'll go faster, they'll also go from sign to sign because they feel more comfortable" says Rob Katona, of the D.N.R.
The D.N.R. argues that the messages of the signs are redundant.
One curve on a trail in Marquette has four warning signs. Which Don Britton, who grooms the trails, says is leading to some reckless sledding.
"A lot of crazy people, people driving by the signs and not by the actual conditions of the trails, curvy, straight, whatever" says Britton.
The D.N.R. recommendations not only ask that the number of signs be reduced, but that they be made consistent throughout the state.
"In addition to some of the duplicate and unnecessary signs, we're going to have some guidance documents to provide to the grant sponsors to more or less give them some guidance to show them where they should be placing the signs, which help with consistency" says Katona.
Under the recommended signage program, regulatory signs would remain unchanged.
If the D.N.R.'s recommendations are approved by the Michigan State Forest Management Team, they could be implemented as early as the 2011-2012 snowmobile season.
