:( I was just reading another post about the speed laws on the "Canadian trail" and read that it is 50 KPH.. It suddenly dawned on me how slow that is (I went out and double checked my T-Cats speedo - we are talking 30 MPH here!! There is NO WAY that can be correct! Is it? What do you folks "up yonder" do with all that "extra" steam that your sitting on? I just cant even imagine having to try and run my T-Cat that slow... If I were forced to do that (30 mph max) I would sell out and buy a 380 Ski-Doo - NO JOKING!!! Is there something I am missing here? Do you (Canadians) have lakes that you can ride as fast as you want on or something?? I remember the days of yesteryear (1970's) when the 30 MPH (or 50 KPH) sled was considered a pig! My little Ski-Doo Elans that my kids rode when they were 6 thru 13 years old would run 30 mph ALL day - if 30 is the speed limit why all the talk about big/fast machines up there...... I AM VERY CONFUSED - that cant be correct :unsure: !!!!!!!!!!!
Please someone tell me I am missing something here!
Woodsy SWRules

Yip, 50 KPH. Pretty pathetic. But there are no limits on the lakes, so your free to open 'er up. Cops are fairly easy on the speed limit crap, mostly they set up on the long straight stretches of trail, or the end of feilds, where they know they can nail guys with some pretty high #'s. 50 is too slow IMO, however, you still get lots of dudes going way too fast for the trail up here too.

Thanks a zillion "Backinit"! I get it now, with as many lakes as you folks have there is virtually NO AREA that you can go that doesnt have a spot for some highspeed lake running - you still got it made! 30 mph still seems pathetically slow by our standards here in Michigan but who knows, if people dont stop killing themselves here maybe our trail laws will change to match yours (I hope not!!). I REALLY like the common sense approach but it sure seems like we (Michigandians) keep proving that it doesnt work.
Woodsy SWRules

You "Michigandians" aren't the only ones. Michigandians??

The speed limit was set (for Ontario) back in the late 60s/early 70s. I doubt we'll ever see it change :whatever: .

There are no posted speed limits in New Brunswick. In the tight twisty sections they have some slow or caution signs but that is it.

Team Renegade has no comment at this time......:sarcasm:

The speed limit is not all of Canada Just Ontario!!!

well if ya think about it, 50 Kph is a nice speed, its a little slow but you cant get really hurt if you ever HIT something or somehow fall off.

What is the posted speed limit on the trails in Michigan?

In quebec spedd limit is set at 70 km/h. But we are not often under it...

its just a money grab for the cops.
there are many times where you can't go 50k, but I dont believe anyone who rides in ontario never exceeds 50.
including the cops and the president of the ofsc

No speed limit in BC.....I've never seen one anyway. Only place I have ever heard of cops is the super popular areas that are having problems with sled theft (Valemont,...). 50km/h in powder don't work!!

There are two sides to this issue.

one is of liability.

the ontario government is trying to show "due-diligence" in preparation for someone suing when they lose their husband/wife/daughter etc. because there is no regulation of the speed.

In order to show due diligence you have to set a posted speed limit (50 kph), then you have to somewhat enforce this limit by "tagging" a few individuals. This way when they are brought to court they can have proof that they are trying to enforce this limit.

The other side of this is one of common sense. The cops aren't out to nail the dude running 70-80 Km/h on a wide open stright, they want to nail the jerk who blows past open driveways off the highway at 140 km/h. These are who they are really after.

I've been stopped on my xcr several times only to produce licence, vehicle info, etc. The cops in turn check if it's stolen. And I am happy that they keep a close eye on this.

In the defence of cops everwhere, I have never heard of a guy getting a ticket for running 10-20 km/h over on a stright run in my area.

Usually when a cop signals a sled to pull over, and the sledder does, vehicle info is exchanged only. It's the guys who don't stop that get the big fines.

I have yet to meet the sledder who faithfully abides by these ridiculuous limits.

May it ever be so!

Originally posted by brenty@Feb 4 2004, 08:22 AM
What is the posted speed limit on the trails in Michigan?
Speed limit? haha

Here in Michigan we use the "common sense" approach - there is NO speed limit. Truly the way it should be!! However, combine this with people who think they can still ride after drinking - even just a little - results in a very high mortality rate! I am sure the insurance industry will eventually find the means to curtail this (open speed limits). They (the Insurance Industry) will NOT attack the REAL issue (they wouldnt DARE take on Budwieser) but will choose to punish we NON drinkers by taking antoher freedom away - STUPID!!!!! I personally LOVE our freedom and shutter at the thought of losing it :( ! However, I do understand how rediculous it is to think that everyones "common sense" is the same. I personally think the alcohol consumption is the REAL issue in Michigan. We allow people to drink and THEN expect these drunken fools to choose not to drive - kinda STUPID really!! Freedom without common sense is can be DEADLY! The other HUGE factor are parents who buy their children snowmobiles and turn them loose - they would NEVER let their 12 year old take their car out and go 70 MPH down the road. These same people will buy a kid a snowmobile for a birthday present and send them to their doom - REAL SAD!!!!!
Gotta agree with most of you though - 30 MPH is not even in the common sense realm either! I took my T-Cat out a few minutes ago to see how it liked going 30 thru a fresh 12 inch powder - it turned into a snow plow!!! Kinda like a boat trying to get up on plane!! I feel sorry for you folks in Ontario!
Woodsy

Originally posted by madsledhead@Feb 4 2004, 10:32 AM


The cops aren't out to nail the dude running 70-80 Km/h on a wide open stright, they want to nail the jerk who blows past open driveways off the highway at 140 km/h. These are who they are really after.


YEAH RIGHT??????? I was stoped in straight field, good vision, double wide trail doing 80kmh That is 50 mph The Opp was from Casselman Gave me a fine and never even checked to see if I had Insurance papers.

Said sorry to spoil your day.....I said I wish i was going faster to check my speedo lol fine is same price no mater what...

Guess it depends on the cop???

Originally posted by woodsy@Feb 4 2004, 02:29 PM
I feel sorry for you folks in Ontario!

don't...... instead, come for a ride up north (New Liskeard, Timmins, Cochrane) the trails are still all posted 50k ...... :D

I ride in the UP and got 2 ##!!!!***** speeding tickets and according to Randy Radar in MI it is 55mph on all trails unless it's too fast for conditions. There are no points with the ticket, they call it an "Excessice Speed" ticket, $125.00 per hit. I won't go into the mph I was at but that is silly so I'll have a few more tickets I'm sure. shane

Originally posted by MXZOOoom@Feb 4 2004, 02:48 PM
I was stoped in straight field, good vision, double wide trail doing 80kmh That is 50 mph The Opp was from Casselman Gave me a fine and never even checked to see if I had Insurance papers.


MXZOOoom, I'll apologize in advance for sounding arguementative, or at best unsympathetic, but if the field (trail) was so straight, and your vision was so good, why didn't you see the cop before he saw you?

Too fast for conditions means not being able to react in time to a hazard once you see it, if another sled had been headed toward you at the same speed (80k) that would be a closing speed of 160k or 100 mph. Worth a thought .......

Is it possible you were going (maybe) a little faster than you should have been? Don't be pizzed at the COP, he has a job to do, and he caught you with your head down!!

Michael

In Ontario what are the chances of getting the 50 kph snowmobiling speed limit raised when there is no political will to raise the speed limits on the 400 series highways? :whatever: Slim to none.

:devil: SPEEDING IS WRONG!!!!!!!!!! :devil:

It's just another tax grab. Ignore it and have fun. If you get caught, it's the price of admission. Take your ticket, pay your tax (I mean fine) and keep on "speeding!"

Yahoo!

If it was a tax grab we would have been poorer on Saturday. The media & politicians go on about how speed kills. So their opinion is that X number of sledders are killing themselves @ 50 kph, we can't raise the limit or else the carnage will be worse.

i average about 80kms per hour on the trails and a lot more down a deserted road......... :lol: besides,the cops have better things to do :D

The blanket speedlimit is frustrating sometimes, while riding down a rail trail etc. that is Dead straight.

There are however some trails I ride on a regular basis, and if you can maintain 50km/h through those sections you are a pretty damn good rider.

The problem is, the 50km/h speedlimit is posted all over these technical sections and people believe that the MUST go that speed through there.

you can see the results on the trees as they drift wide or over-cook corner entrances.

I counted at least 10 last weekend on the New Dundee trails. some could be groomer related but others show signs of trees imbedded with plastic and steel.

The Idea is, USE YER NOGGIN!

50 km is way fast enough on are bush trails Like what has been said you'd have to be a damn good rider to maintain any faster then that .....It is that stay in control thing .... nothing wrong with doing 500 km per hour if you can keep control... :sleepy:

Originally posted by revrnd@Feb 4 2004, 06:06 AM
The speed limit was set (for Ontario) back in the late 60s/early 70s. I doubt we'll ever see it change :whatever: .
BS

It started last year or the year before

Nope actually Revrnd is correct, it's been on the books for years but only enforced over the last few seasons. It started when sleds could barely go much over 50 kph on trails that where single tracks and ungroomed, given the current state of both the trail system and the sleds that ride it, 50 kph is not realistic but not likely to change..........EVER!!

Rick.
:cool:

Originally posted by MikeD@Feb 4 2004, 02:07 PM
MXZOOoom, I'll apologize in advance for sounding arguementative, or at best unsympathetic, but if the field (trail) was so straight, and your vision was so good, why didn't you see the cop before he saw you?


He was there at night, Just turned on hes flash light and flagged me down........I thought it was some one in trouble.

Like I stated in an other post.....why are they not in the twistys giving out careless, cause thats where 90% of accidents happen????


Was out Saturday with two RCMP ( off duty) showed them the trails, One is a cousin of my friend that is how we met.... anyway for lunch they both had a beer.........Telling you man...we are all the same.....we are all different.


Ps I did not get upset for the ticket....One thing that is good ...is we do not loose points.....It's just a fine ......no record

Originally posted by decee@Feb 4 2004, 07:56 PM
BS

It started last year or the year before
Lol you wake up just last year or what??? lmao

Like he said dude, The speed limit has been around for ever.

Originally posted by decee@Feb 4 2004, 06:56 PM
BS

It started last year or the year before
decee,

Do you ever get tired of being wrong???

If we had speed limits like that I'd trade my sleds in for a pair of cross country skis.

There are many times I'm "taking it easy" by only going 80mph

I have NEVER heard of a 55 mph trail speed limit here in Michigan and I just stopped a DNR officer - asked him and he said he hadnt heard that one either!! The rule to his understanding was 'reasonable speed". He said that 100 mph was fine as long as it was in an "open and flat" area. It sure seems that if the speed laws were such the manufacturers would focus more on MPG instead of MPH :)
Like I said, I love our freedom!!!
Of course, there are all kinds of ignorant Law Officers out there who will "write the law" anyway they see fit! Hopefully I dont bump into anymore of them!!
Just keep it moving!
Woodsy

You will not see the speed limit changed until we all start being good little boys and girls and stop killing our selves . This and with the insurance issuses that we have right now, there is no hope of even asking the Province to raise the speed limit.

As stated earlier not many people diligently follow the 50km/h limit , but please remember you are not the only ones out there , there may be some 12 year old riding with his parents just over the next hill or some kids in a cabbose . Opener up and kill your self if you want to but don't take the rest of us with you ! It's the Blair Morgan want a bee's in the bushes that I would like to strangle .

Also I would like to mention for anyone who has not been to Ontario , the terrain can vary drastically from one area to another and so does the type of riding that you can do . There are places in Northern Ontario that are groomed 40 feet wide and get to be somewhat boring while travelling at 90 mph for well over an hour or more to trails that are so windy and hilly that you may only get to 15 mph at the best .

Just keep in mind there may be a cop just over the next hill or at the next corner with the radar on you and if you have broke the law then you deserve the ticket .

One other thing to mention is the ofsc staked marked trails on lakes have a 100 meter either side of the marker speed limit . If your going to opener up on the lake stay away from the staked area's

A sign posted on a tree does not make a speed limit.
It was only two years ago that when the province brought in Bill101 (or whatever # it was) that gave teeth to those signs..

There was never a legally enforcable speed limit on CROWN LAND before that fiasco

I thought I was wrong once but I was Wrong

Please note the year on the posted sections of Ontario's Motorized Snow Vehicle Act:

Speed limit

14.* (1)* No person shall drive a motorized snow vehicle at a greater rate of speed than,

(a) 20 kilometres per hour,

(i) on a highway where the speed limit established pursuant to the Highway Traffic Act is 50 kilometres per hour or less, or

(ii) in any public park or exhibition grounds; or

(b) 50 kilometres per hour,

(i) on any highway which is open to motor vehicle traffic, where the speed limit established pursuant to the Highway Traffic Act is greater than 50 kilometres per hour, or

(ii) on a trail. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.44, s. 14 (1).

Municipality may prescribe different rate of speed

(2)* The council of a municipality may by by-law prescribe,

(a) a lower rate of speed for motorized snow vehicles upon any highway or part thereof under its jurisdiction; and

(b) a higher or lower rate of speed for motorized snow vehicles upon a trail, public park or exhibition ground under its jurisdiction,

than is prescribed in subsection (1). R.S.O. 1990, c. M.44, s. 14 (2).

Minister may prescribe different rate of speed

(3)* The Minister may by regulation prescribe a higher or lower rate of speed upon any trail or any part thereof, public park or exhibition ground not under the jurisdiction of a municipality, than is prescribed in subsection (1). R.S.O. 1990, c. M.44, s. 14 (3).

By-law effective

(4)* No by-law passed under subsection (2) or regulation made pursuant to subsection (3) becomes effective until signs are erected in accordance with the regulations. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.44, s. 14 (4).

Exception

(5)* Speed limits prescribed by this section or any regulation made or by-law passed under this section do not apply to a motorized snow vehicle operated by a police officer or conservation officer in the lawful performance of his or her duties. R.S.O. 1990, c. M.44, s. 14 (5).

I personally think of the 50kph as a guideline.

If she's flat and open and I can cruise safely then 120-150 it is. If I come into a stetch where I can't see a safe distance, I back way off. In the twisties I would be well under. Normally we ride around 60-100 kph. I don't ever ride to endanger anyone else and adjust my speed according to the conditions / situation at hand. I always ride far right and not in the middle through the woods. If I can't ride it on the right then I back off.

I ride my own ride based on my comfort and the safety of myself and others I may encounter.

I have tried to ride a slower pace but on those long stretches of wide open space how can you putt.

Hey Woody's I'll post my ticket. There is a speed limit in MI on the trails, I do NOT obey it but it's there. I got 2 tickets last year and we see the DNR & MI State Police in our area all the time. MI STATE Police were giving tickets for "Rolling Stops" at stop signs also. shane