From Snow Action, Dec 1998 issue, page 6.

I think most everyone agrees snowmobile racing is inherently dangerous. It's dangerous because the racers go fast, regardless of the type of racing. However, there is a difference between dangerous and reckless.

Snowmobile race fans have become accustomed to wrecks but it still makes me cringe when I see a nasty accident like Jason Jones' mishap at the X Games last January. And I don't like to see it over and over. It's not how I'd like to see our sport portrayed.

There are no hard statistics on how many accidents occur in snowmobile racing in any given season. I've been to races where there were no accidents and then to some that seem like it's one accident right after another. The factors causing accidents are many, including track conditions, rider experience, weather conditions and the like. To me, one of the scariest elements at race sites are flag/corner people who have little or no training on how to properly perform the job. Sure, they're volunteers but when it comes to racer safety, there are really no excuses. Nor should there be.

I also believe some tracks are designed beyond racer skills.

Lin Rogers, a name familiar to western racers, offers another perspective on snowmobile racing. Rogers is a NREMT Paramedic who follows the RMXCRC circuit, providing full-time medical service during each event. Rogers has been around racing for a long time and has seen plenty of accidents. Rogers and RMXCRC recently received the safety award from ISR, so they obviously know a thing or two about racer safety.

Rogers writes, "I see my friends injured. I attend to their emergent needs as best I can. I work with my mind guided by my heart. I still see my friends and those that will become my friends injured. I do my job of caring for those injured at RMXCRC events, but the thoughts of permanent injury to the participants haunts my mind. I wrap the injured foot, tape the blistered hand, backboard the possible spinal fracture and silently go home after each event I am fortunate to attend. I have treated patients with names like Hibbert, Haikonen, Vincent, Jones, Tupper, Crapo and others - Defenbach, MacDonald, Davis. Whether the name is famous or known is not the criteria for this correspondence...the criteria is that our racers are getting hurt by racing in our snowmobile race circuits, wherever they may be. And the odds that a driver will get hurt at the next event is increasing.

"A few years ago I began a series of cross country events under the name of Rocky Mountain Cross Country Racing Circuit. I used to race in the organization until one of my friends was killed in one event. At that time, I decided a medical team should be available at these races and follow the racing participants around the lengthy courses. These medical persons would be trained in EMS procedures and volunteer their time at each event. I became the director of the medical unit, known as the Sweep, and gained much support from all the snowmobile manufacturers. The RMXCRC then entered the world of snocross racing and injuries began to increase. As the larger circuits began to design courses similar to motocross courses with man made jumps that would propel a driver and his sled high into the air, injuries became more prevalent, but secondary to the oohs and ahhs of the crowds. Vocabulary like tabletops, triples and doubles began to infiltrate the world of RMXCRC. The result was increased injuries - injuries to my friends."