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BY GARY REMAL
Staff Writers 03/04/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Andy Molloy

STRAPPED IN: Scott Smith harnesses his daughter, Kaitlyn, 3, to himself after filling up their snowmobile with gas Wednesday at Fuller's Market in West Gardiner. The harness restrains young riders from falling. "Safety first," the elder Smith said.

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Modern ones are too powerful; they travel too fast and often are driven by inexperienced riders, some who have been drinking. And too few wardens are available to adequately enforce safety controls, he said.

"I don't think anybody needs to have a 150-horsepower, 1,000-cc snowmobile," said Latham, who serves as vice president and trailmaster for Fayette's Rainbow Riders Snowmobile Club. "They've got some big monsters out there."

And nine people have been killed on them in 2008.

"Unfortunately," said Latham said, "you can't legislate smart."

On Monday, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland "Danny" Martin said a snowmobile fatality was being investigated in Aroostook County. Riders also died since Friday in Bremen, Shirley, Brooksville and New Sweden, authorities said. Additionally, four others riding three snowmobiles were treated for hypothermia Saturday after being pulled from Damariscotta Lake.

"Snowmobilers: We need you to ride right and ride smart and slow down," Martin said.

Martin said speed was a factor in six of the previous eight deaths.

The department is working with the state police and Maine Snowmobile Association to get the word out about safety.

Martin said Gov. John Baldacci called him early Sunday morning to ask him what actions he's taken to enforce Maine snowmobile laws. Martin said he has asked wardens to step up enforcement for the remainder of the season, which could last until late April in Aroostook County, he said.

The department has more than 100 wardens, with 35 to 45 on duty on any given day.

Bob Meyers, executive director of the Maine Snowmobile Association, said nearly all of the state's 13,500 snowmobile trails are open this year, the most extensive trail system in the Northeast. The breadth of trails spread wardens thin.

"It's all about personal responsibility," he said. "It's about making good decisions while you're out there."

But emphasis on safety enforcement likely wouldn't help, he said.

"There's no law that's going to change these things from happening," Meyers said. "There's probably 100,000 snowmobiles out there and, on a good day, 50 wardens on duty. The math just doesn't work." The state has 124 wardens' positions statewide, three of them vacant, said Gregg Sanborn, acting chief of the Maine Warden Service.

Because of new budget constraints, each warden is restricted from driving more than 70 miles per day, Sanborn said. "That's about 60 percent of what they normally would have," he said. "It's a substantial reduction." All district wardens are equipped with snowmobiles; spares are available in each region. But a boost in enforcement in one area will mean a reduction in another, said department spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte.

"We may not be doing as many ice-fishing details if we're doing more snowmobile enforcement," she said.

Latham, of the Fayette's Rainbow Riders club, bemoans the lack of enforcement of speed and other laws governing snowmobiling. "There aren't enough wardens to do the job," he said. "They're so under-funded and under-manned (that) they can't possibly deal with what they've got going."

Wardens visit his club's 24-mile trail system only once or twice each winter, he said.

"It comes back to inattention, speed and drinking," Latham said. "Education is the only real answer, but whether you can get through to people, I don't know."

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