Wardens urge safety for snowmobile riders

LAMBERT – Last week’s snowfall may have been a boon for the industry, but snowmobilers could find the new snow more of a bump on the nose – or worse – if they don’t ride safely.

After two minor snowmobile accidents over the weekend, the Maine Warden Service urged people to take it easy.

Around 3 p.m. Saturday, Neil Grass, 49, of Vanceboro was riding his snowmobile on Lambert Lake when an accident occurred. “He was traveling around on the lake and apparently he hit a snowbank where someone had plowed,” Warden Jeremy Kemp said Sunday. Grass was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Warden Jim Martin, who handled the second snowmobile accident, did not return a telephone call Sunday.

Kemp recommended that snowmobilers wear helmets. “Alcohol and drugs and any recreational vehicles don’t mix,” Kemp said. “If people choose to use any of those substances, they should stay away from any machine, snowmobile, ATVs, anything.”

The warden warned that alcohol and drugs lead to a slower reaction time.

“If you’re approaching a snowbank or an ice fishing hole or a snow fort that the kids have built … at 80, 90 or 100 mph and there is no warning that it is coming … and have been drinking, that reaction time is all the more important,” he said.

Kemp also recommended that people be aware of trail conditions.

Although ice conditions on lakes are good, Kemp reminded riders to also be aware of open water. “There’s a little bit of slush out here and there, but the thickness is about average for this time of year.” he said. “We caught up to what we lost with the warmth of January, but people still have to be careful.”

Snowmobilers also need to be aware of pressure ridges. “As the ice thickens two pieces of ice, one will slide under the other one and one will get pushed up in the air. It can go from a foot high in the morning to 2, 3 or 4 feet high in the afternoon. They are very difficult to see. If it’s white conditions and the sun is bright there’s nothing to tell you that it’s there,” he said.