MN Snowmobile Certification

[Ice Cold]

I am planning on renting a snowmobile the weekend of Feb. 5th and just realized that I need to get a Snowmobile Safety Certificate before that time since I was born after 1976. It appears that I can receive the certificate by watching a CD from the DNR and taking a test at home. My question is whether or not I will be able to get this all taken care of by Feb. 4th in view of the time required to receive the CD via mail, complete the test, send back the results (I assume), and then receive the certificate from the DNR.

Anyone have any experience with this process? How long will it take from start, i.e., requesting the CD on Monday, until I actually have what it takes to rent a sled? I have to put a deposit down on the sled and do not want to do so if the certification process will not be complete before the rental day.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Scott Stein]

you'll have plenty of time. The CD should arrive 2-3 days after you order it and the test wont take you very long. After you pass the test you can print off a temporary certficate until your card comes in the mail.

[gregg52]

wow i didnt know at ur age you needed one

live and learn i guess

i thought it was like kids under 16

[Ice Cold]

Thanks, Scott. That is exactly the informatin that I was looking for.

Gregg - I was also suprised to hear that I would need to receive this certification ever though I am over 30 ... until I remembered that this is MN. I guess if it actually results in safer snowmobiling, I shouldn't complain.

[gregg52]

is that something recently passed

good grief everytime someone stubs their toe they make a new law

[Dave S]

this has been law for some time. Snowmobilers go back to '76 as stated. ATV riders only go back to '87.

[lots of luck]

This is a sore subject with me. I payed the fine for one of these in the winter of 02'-03' I believe. I think it was relatively new at the time and there was little to no info at the time on testing centers and class room times. I was having a heck of a time to find a place to sign up. I was able to sign up for one that ended up being canceled last minute during the beginning of the riding season. I said screw it, at the time I had been driving eight years, snowmobiling in IN for many years, yet deemed unfit for the trails, hmmmm... Oh well, I had a newly purchased sled at the time, had to go let it stretch its legs.

Well long story short I took the class some 60 miles from my house at 8 or 9 am in the morning on a Saturday and shared my experiences with the DNR and police officer that presented the class. At that time they said they were hearing a lot of that. How they ever passed a law requiring a safety class and then did so little to promote it and make it available is still a head scratcher. I still think it was more of a fundraiser or the result of a couple of very deadly snowmobile seasons, knee jerk reaction. I should have fought that fine, but it would have cost PTO and more money missing work, of course it probably will be on my record for all of time. In the last few years I see they have a CD version, obviously getting everyone to a class was deemed "unrealistic".

The classroom information was well presented.

[Dave S]

lots of luck,

a couple of your statements aren't necessarily true.

First off, the people conducting the course are volunteers and the fee paid is to cover materials during the course. In most cases LEO and COs are there to answer questions and to discuss the laws. Or atleast that's been my experience.

By implenting a safety certification course, it was something new to MN and there were a couple growing pains early on. It is much more organized now than it was in it's infancy.

As far as offering a CD to acquire your safety certificate....it's not because it was deemed "unrealistic" to get everyone into a course. The cut-off of 16 years old is due in part to most teenagers by that time have their drivers license. If they're capable of passing a written and skills test behind the wheel of an automobile, they have the basic motor skills necessary to understand how a throttle or brakes work on a snowmobile or ATV. Thus, no need for more classroom training.

As far as classes having little to no info available in '02/'03....a person only needed to contact the DNR for the course nearest you if simply going online was not an option.

[lots of luck]

The volunteers conducting the course were fantastic! Don't get me wrong there. The course was also well done.

The fee associated with the fine was what I was referring to as the in the field fund raiser. When the county sheriff was sitting on field approaches and gravel roads along a grant in aid trail on the first snowfall along Highway 7 in Carver county, I would say he was looking for reasons to stop snowmobiles. Looking for the bar crowd, which I refuse to be a part of. Unfortunately for me I was following a neighbor who decided to cut across the highway and ride against the flow of traffic, I thought he was catching the trail to go north, but instead proceeded to follow the highway and subsequently getting us stopped. Can't ride against the flow of traffic along a highway on a grant in aid trail. I no longer ride with that guy.

The fee for the training class was minimal, I gladly paid that for myself and my wife.

If offering a CD wasn't due to logistics, then why and when did they start offering to mail out CD's? I don't believe the 16 years of age was in play. I was 24 at the time. I would have gladly saved the 120 mile round trip.

I was online everyday as part of my job, the resources were difficult to find. I would see a class, but it would be no where near me, trust me it was not a simple task at the time. Granted I had only been a resident for a year at the time, I was not up to speed on everything MN yet.

I am a stickler for the rules. It was just difficult at the time to accommodate that one.

[Dave S]

I'm not 100% sure on the home study CD of snowmobiles, but I think it only took a year to implement this for ATVs after they started ATV training through the MN DNR. I don't know for sure, but I would suspect snowmobiles changed about the same time. If my memory hasn't totally failed me yet, I think it was '03 or '04 when the home study option was made available for the ATV group.

[stifler51]

i think that the class aspect should be an age thing rather then a date thing (born after 76). As a kid when i took the class i believe i was 13 maybe 14, it was better to see kids hands on learning it and making sure they know it. I also had to take a driving test with a group of 3 other classmates, to put words to action. I think with this whole CD its too easy to pass out the certs with barely any reading or riding exp. I do have CD for my girlfriend, which she just took the test, most of the questions are common sense that u can figure out just by reading the answers or simple math, but at the same time ive been riding for 9 years so i can show and teach her how to ride.