Snowmobile: Determining Group Ride Order

• The most knowledgeable and experienced rider takes the lead. Trail leaders:
  • Guide the direction, pace, and length of the ride.
  • Alert the group to changing conditions and warn of potential hazards.
  • Avoid unnecessary risk by placing safety first.
  • Do not allow reckless behavior such as “horseplay” or passing within the group.
• The least experienced riders should ride immediately behind the leader.
• Less experienced riders, or those with less reliable machines, should never ride last.
• The last position of a group, called a “trail sweep,” is critical in maintaining proper spacing and leadership on the trail. This rider should be as experienced and knowledgeable as the trail leader.

Group Ride Spacing

Stay a safe distance behind the snowmobile ahead of you.

• Proper spacing is determined by speed, reaction time, distance, and the need to maintain visual contact.
• As a rule of thumb, calculate spacing distances using a reaction time of three seconds. As the snowmobile in front of you passes an object, count one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three. If you pass that same object in less than three seconds, you should allow more space.