{"id":4857,"date":"2021-01-14T07:28:08","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T13:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/?p=4857"},"modified":"2021-01-15T06:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T12:35:00","slug":"are-snowmobiles-more-dangerous-than-motorcycles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/are-snowmobiles-more-dangerous-than-motorcycles\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Snowmobiles More Dangerous Than Motorcycles?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
If you like going fast in the summer on a motorcycle, and your need for speed has you looking for a winter equivalent, snowmobiling is the way to go, but which one is more dangerous?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, motorcycles tend to be more dangerous than snowmobiles. While the rate of injury is about the same for either machine, the rate of death is three times greater for motorcycles.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s crazy is that snowmobiles cover a lot more ground than motorcycles<\/strong>! All told, the U.S. has a whopping 137,000 miles of signed trails that are either designated as snowmobile trails or multi-use trails. The entire Interstate Highway System, by comparison, claims a paltry 48,000 miles. Read on to find out why motorcycles are still <\/strong>more dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are a couple main reasons why motorcycles are more dangerous than snowmobiles. Let’s dive into them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the U.S., there are an estimated two million snowmobile riders. In the northern tier of states as well as most of the mountainous states in the West, there are tens of thousands of miles of groomed trails for snowmobiling. The two top states, Wisconsin and Minnesota have a combined 45,000 miles of snowmobile trails. Put another way, if you rode 50 miles a day during the winter, it would take you more than nine years to ride every mile! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if there are more snowmobile trails than roads, one of the main reasons that motorcycles tend to be more dangerous is that there are simply more of them<\/strong>. The U.S. has about 1.1 million registered snowmobiles <\/strong>and about 8.3 million registered motorcycles<\/strong>. Add to that fact that motorcycles are typically sharing the roads with all varieties of other vehicles, and you have the other reason why they are more deadly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the National Safety Council, 61% of motorcycle deaths occur in urban areas and involve other vehicles. On a motorcycle, there are just more things that lie outside of your control. For that reason, my own experience riding motorcycles has been mostly on empty highways. I\u2019ve never really wanted to ride on busy roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Snowmobiles, on the other hand, are almost exclusively ridden in rural or remote wilderness areas away from traffic. Let\u2019s face it, if there\u2019s enough snow on the main roads to ride a snowmobile, then there isn\u2019t going to be any other traffic! So in most cases, the main dangers are lack of experience, trees and other obstacles, wildlife, and avalanches in the high mountains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, motorcycles are more dangerous from a few factors–but snowmobiling still has a lot of risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, statistically speaking, there are six safety factors to consider when riding a snowmobile: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making the wrong choice on any of these factors greatly increases your risk of injury or death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to overcome some of these risks, so let’s talk about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy Are Motorcycles More Dangerous Than Snowmobiles?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
More Motorcycles Than Snowmobiles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Motorcycles Have To Share the Road<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tips For Snowmobiling More Safely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Get Certified<\/h3>\n\n\n\n