February has seen a rash of snowmobile fatalities in Wisconsin...10 so far...as many as all of last winter. Mike Simonson reports from Superior.

By far, most snowmobile fatalities come from a combination of alcohol and speed. DNR Snowmobile Safety Administrator Gary Eddy says narrow, bumpy trails in the woods and lots of night riding make snowmobiling challenging.

“So you have to be on your game at all times and have your senses on high alert. Anytime you drink alcohol or throw alcohol in the mix there, you reduce your ability to focus and react and make good sound decisions and set yourself up for failure.”

So far this winter, 16 people have been killed snowmobiling in Wisconsin. Although that’s up 60% from a year ago, last winter was abnormal because there wasn’t much snow. A better gauge would be the 2010-’11 season when 17 died.

That year only one death was caused by breaking through the ice. This winter four fatalities are ice-related…three on Lake Superior near Ashland in the past month. Ashland County Sheriff Mick Brennan says lake ice can go from a couple of feet thick to a couple of inches thick in a short distance.

“There’s nothing that you can do about the ice. It’s an unpredictable piece of nature. Even people who know the ice, know the lake will still have accidents out there. It’s just unpredictable.”

Brennan says it helps to ask the DNR or local bait shops and hotels about lake ice before going out. There are 220,000 registered snowmobilers in Wisconsin plus 20,000 with out-of-state passes.

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