The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is intensifying surveillance of snowmobile trails and paths throughout the province this weekend, in the hope of reducing the number of fatal collisions that occur during the winter season.
“We will be present Saturday and Sunday in several sectors, including the intersections of snowmobile routes and roads. It is done in collaboration with several Quebec police services, road controllers and the Fédération des clubs de motoneige du Québec (FCMQ), so it allows us to be many more numerous,” explains agent Hélène St-Pierre, door -speak to the SQ.
This is the second year that such an operation has been organized. Mme St-Pierre affirms that it is above all “a good means of prevention and awareness”. “The causes of collisions are still very often speed or the consumption of alcohol and drugs. That’s what we check on the trails,” she says.
For the rest, snowmobilers will be reminded of usage tips. Among other things, we suggest that they never leave alone and that they be accompanied by at least one person. If you have to leave alone, “then we always recommend leaving your itinerary with someone to locate you if necessary, and save precious time,” adds the agent.
In 2023, some 27 snowmobilers lost their lives in a collision across Quebec. This is an increase compared to the average of recent years, which fluctuated more around the 20 death mark.
At least two fatal accidents have also already occurred in 2024. Last Sunday, a snowmobiler lost his life following a swerve that occurred on Saturday in Thetford Mines, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region. The next day, a snowmobiler also lost her life not far from there, in Saint-Camille-de-Lellis.
Last winter, the SQ had also called on users to exercise great caution as spring break approached, deploring that, “in order to entertain children, certain adults adopt behaviors that are “prove to be unsafe, and at risk of serious injury when practicing motor sports.”
In Quebec, any person under the age of 16 who drives a snowmobile or off-road vehicle is liable to a fine of $450. Users are invited to respect speed limits, but also to travel on trails and avoid unmarked bodies of water, as the state of the ice can represent “a significant risk”.
The FCMQ, for its part, calls on snowmobilers to refer to its interactive map or its iMotoneige application before taking a trail, in order to know in advance if it is passable. An awareness campaign is organized on social networks by the organization and several police forces.