About Safe and Sober!
Our Mission
The sport of snowmobiling is not what it was in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and even the early 2000's. Snowmobiles have developed into fine pieces of machinery; these machines use to have a top speed of maybe 40 M.P.H but now some snowmobiles can reach upwards of 100 M.P.H with no problem.
The riders were once mainly made up of local outdoorsmen, but now the sport is made up of all walks of life and though it is still a male dominated sport, the growth of women riders in the sport is enjoyable to see. We are also seeing a resurgence of young families in the sport, and this is needed to ensure that our sport will succeed for a long time.
With all of these changes our sport (mentioned and unmentioned), we have also had negative factors. Alcohol consumption and speed are the biggest factors in most deaths in snowmobiling. The Wisconsin DNR does have a 55 M.P.H nighttime speed limit in effect and since its inception our total deaths have dropped.
What about Alcohol and operating while intoxicated? Our current laws regarding this are antiquated. Since 2009 our organization along with many others (such as, the Wisconsin ATV Association, the Governors Snowmobile Council, and other recreational groups) have developed a proposal for placing an OWI on a snowmobile, atv, or boat on a offenders drivers license on their second offense. This bill can now be referred to as AB 439.
The mentioned issues have been (or are being) addressed by our legislators, but only if we (the snowmobile community) speak up and we don't accept the "status quo" answers to our concerns. We cannot just sweep issues off of our trails, we need to work together and make a difference.
By joining Safe and Sober: Wisconsin Snowmobilers United you will be apart of a voice at the capitol, and to the snowmobile community. We want to hear your thoughts and concerns and how you think we can improve our sport.
Our cost to join is recession proof; it is FREE. We do not feel that being part of our organization should cost anyone any additional money, so please join us in making a positive change in snowmobiling in the state of Wisconsin.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our site, and if you have any questions please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Patrick Schmutzer - President
Charles Griffith - Vice President
What do we do?
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We are focused on making the snowmobile trails in Wisconsin safer. We work with local and state officials and legislators, recreational committees (such as the Governors Snowmobile Council), and other organizations that are involved in our sport to raise awareness of changes that can be made to improve snowmobiling.
What can you do for me?
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We give our members a larger impact on the issues that surround our sport. Many times we have heard people say "what can I do, I am only 1 person", by joining Safe and Sober: Wisconsin Snowmobilers United you will now have the voices of our membership with you, and we will be able to speak directly to the decision makers.
No alcohol when snowmobiling?
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As President and Vice President, Patrick and Charles practice Zero Tolerance; NO ALCOHOL when snowmobiling. The people we snowmobile with practice the same policy, simply because they feel the same way.