Fine For Being On Early Ice

[Scott Stein]

so my dad was telling me that tomorow morning on KYSM 103.5 radio station their havin ppl call in and have their say on if ppl should be fined for being out on early ice! heres what i found on their HSOforum

A man fell through the ice ice-skating on Medicine Lake in Plymouth MN on December 7th. The Minnesota DNR says it's too early to be out on the ice. The DNR will fine you for having your fish house on the ice when the ice fishing season is over. Should anglers be fined for having their fish houses on lakes too early in the season?

what the heck is this!?!? i say if someone puts their house out on thin ice and it goes through,then thats their own fault for not knowing the thickness of ice!!! lets hear what you guys think about this? you can also go to their HSOforum and vote on this issue!

[bigred1974]

Personal responsibility is going the way of the dinosaur. I say absolutely no fines, what a load of hooey!

[Caleb S]

I don't know if people should be fined but... here's the scenario, some one-who-thinks-I-am-silly knowingly goes out on dangerous ice and the officials aren't allowed to say no, said one-who-thinks-I-am-silly falls through the ice and now expects the officials to risk their lives to pull him out.

[riverrat56]

No, that shouldn't be expected, but for some reason it is...

[Sandmannd]

It's all not holding anyone accountable anymore. If you go out on thin ice and don't due your homework, it's on you.

[stumper]

At what point do they say its safe? They say its safe at 2 ft and somone finds a spring,falls in and dies ,then what? His family sues the DNR? At NO point should they be saying its safe,to much liability.

[UMsmalliez]

Personally I think this is ridiculous. People need to do what's best for their own personal safety. From the sounds of it the guy who fell through on Medicine wasn't familiar with early ice or what steps we take to ensure our safety. #1 you don't go out one early ice alone. #2 you take it slow, checking the ice as you go. It was a tragedy, but I don't think everyone should be punished for it.

[7outof10]

man what is this world coming to

[zamboni]

What do you expect from a state where if you get caught without a seat belt its a $120 fine, but yet someone can do a wheelie past you on the interstate not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle.

Welcome to Minnesota, Land of 10,000 dumb laws.

[Shawnny B]

I remember reading on here somewhere that down in New Mexico up in the mountains, they have everything blocked off untill the DNR/Rangers measure a said amount of ice.

There is no way that this could happen here, too many variables, what about the backwaters, rivers, lakes with springs or current in them, what happens when the lake gets plenty of ice, then the heat wave comes and starts dropping some of those houses into the lake, or if we get an early spring???

[csrandt]

I respect and appreciate the DNR for all they do, but I don't think it is possible to regulate laws for being on the ice early. Fishing and hunting are at-your-own-risk sports/hobbies. All they can do is increase the fines for pulling trucks and fish houses out. Maybe they should put more money into advertisements or run ice reports on the local news.

[FL SNIPER]

I'm, for the most part, a law abiding citizin...but if it came to laws about when I can ice fish and when I can't I will become a criminal...these proposed laws are becoming ridiculous......if these types of things keep going on we all will be living in the same style homes, eating the same foods, driving the same cars....etc. etc. etc. Zombies!

[adamm1]

You did notice neither of the deaths were people who fished. In fact I saw them interview a fisherman on medicine who said the patch of ice they guy went through had been open water the day before. You cant legislate against people doin things that are going to get them in trouble.

[BradT]

Haven't they heard of "natural selection"? I'm a firm believer that if we start down the road of having the goverment tell us when something is "safe" or not we're in for a world of idiots just waiting for someone to tell them when to do everything in their life. It's sad times when no one will take responsibility for themselves. Just my opinion of course.

[L_Cappo]

i can see it now.new update in the reg book fines for ice fishing to early.

[Chef]

Fines, although unpopular in this case are probably going to be imposed to defray the enormous cost to rescue people when they fall through the Ice. Is there an emergency reponder on this forum who can tell us what it costs to rescue?

[Draven422]

I work on an ambulance service. We don't charge unless there is a transport. It kind of sucks when we treat people, and then refuse the transport. Cost of fuel, supplies, time, etc. are a hit.

However when the local fire department is called out, they typically are going to bill. (I got stuck with a fire bill for a false alarm to the house I bought. I didn't own it at the time, but it went with the property.) Amounts can be by the number of fire responders that showed up ($/hour per person), or it can be a set amount. The city ordinances usually state what that amount is, or when/if they charge.

*That's my personal experience, and agencies vary, so don't take it that it's that way everywhere.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I'm a fireman. All departments do things differently.

We charge in 2 different ways. If it's a full blown call, no matter if it's a fire, rescue, car accident, etc it will be $500. If it's what we call a "Nusance" call, meaning a false alarm, guy with a backyard bon fire, etc then the charge is $100.

These charges are not to make money, it's to help defray the costs of the run. Nothing more, nothing less.

As far as fines for thin ice travel is concerned. Let's not give the government any more ideas on how to squeeze revenue from our pockets. Also, I feel this will never happen as who will be the one to say it's safe??? If the DNR says, ice on lake X is safe and someone falls through, the DNR is now liable. So, it's in their best interest to stay out of this.

[WaveWacker]

Not to sound cruel here, but yeah it's sad that the idea of an individual having to be accountable for their own choices is going by the wayside. I blame a lot of it on attorney's or more so court rooms that decide to award damages to a person that got hurt mainly by a choice that he/she made.

For example...someone walks on my land, potentially without permission and lets say that it's not posted. They break their leg by tripping over something on my land or something like that and I end up getting sued because in someone's twisted mind I should have made things "safe".

[masterpuppet]

Thin ice is something that each look at differentaly. I being heavier 275lbs. know that I will not be comfy walking on ice a 150lbs man would be. So they would have to use a weight chart then you get into decrimatation to big people like me .LOL.

[Quetico]

Ice fishing and hunting have always been at your own risk hobbies like csrandt said. There are tons of at risk type hobbies. If people are stupid enough to go out on the ice without checking the thickness as they go out, then give them a Darwin Award. Thanks for removing yourself from the gene pool.

On the other side of the coin. My buddies in high school were threatened with fines from the Burnsville Police for being on the lake too early. The catch there was that the lake was still largely open and little kids from the park next to the lake were following them onto the ice. My buddies were suddenly putting the lives of young unknowing children at risk for falling into the open water. I can fully understand were the police were coming from in this case.

[toughguy]

How about a fine for not brushing your teeth twice a day? Maybe we should fine people for eating too much fast food or diving on the shallow end of a pool.

[BobT]

I see it this way. If it's a volunteer service then charging ("fine" if you prefer) would be appropriate, at least to defray the cost of the service, which is much lower than it would be if it was a full-time service.

If the service is a full-time service then the cost is already paid for through the budget of the program when we pay our taxes. I don't see this any different than the cost for winter snow removal. We never know how much will be spent but we budget as needed to take care of it.

Bob

[Caleb S]

Also, I feel this will never happen as who will be the one to say it's safe??? If the DNR says, ice on lake X is safe and someone falls through, the DNR is now liable. So, it's in their best interest to stay out of this.

The DNR does not currently say a lake is safe so why would they start doing it. They would only prohibit travel on a lake that has been deemed unsafe. I am by no way saying they should start fining people for being on dangerous ice but simply making a point.

[Caleb S]

I don't think the idea of fining someone for simply being on "dangerous ice" will work as there are way too many variables involved.

The only way I can see this working is to fine people who actually fall through and require a rescue.