Sweden to mandate helmets for snowmobile drivers
From January the 1st drivers of snowmobiles and quad-bikes are required to wear a helmet.
“We have especially big problems with these quads or all-terrain vehicles where we have seen that half of the deadly injuries have skull injuries, so there is a big need for helmets for those vehicles,” said Olof Stenlund, researcher at the Transport Agency.
Helmets have long been required for people who drive motor bikes or mopeds, and now the equivalent rules are introduced also for snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. The speed limit for a snow mobile is 70 kilometres/hour, but several models go much faster than that.
“A lot of snow mobile riders already have helmets, but we have seen in these fatal accidents that many of them have had trauma to the head. So we think that this could help,” Stenlund says.
Related stories from around the North:
Finland: Reindeer glitter to improve road safety in Finland, Yle News
Russia: Service reindeer for police in Russia’s Arctic, Barents Observer
United States: Report paints troubling picture of Alaska State Troopers’ pilot safety protocol, Alaska Dispatch News
