AUGUSTA – A bill that would require liability insurance for snowmobile and ATV owners and operators got an icy reception at a public hearing Tuesday, with only the bill’s sponsor speaking in favor of the bill.

Meanwhile, the Maine Snowmobile Association, the advocacy group ATV of Maine, Maine’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department, insurers and a Millinocket snowmobile rental business spoke against the legislation.

With the advent of turbo snowmobiles that can tear through the snow at speeds of 100 miles per hour, and with landowners suffering property damage from all-terrain vehicles, owners and drivers ought to have insurance to pay for damage and injuries, said Rep. Ronald Collins, R-Wells, sponsor of LD 1665.

Collins said he used to own three snowmobiles and always carried insurance. It was recreation his family enjoyed.

Since those days, however, snowmobiles have advanced in price and power, Collins said. Most cost between $5,000 to $10,000 and can travel as fast as cars. One Yamaha snowmobile’s speedometer goes as high as 118 miles per hour, he said.

“It makes no sense” that the owners and operators not carry insurance, he said. When there’s an accident or damage, people need the kind of protection insurance would provide, Collins said.

Bob Meyers differs. He’s head of the 32,000-member Maine Snowmobile Association. He said his organization is opposed, in part because it would drive up the cost of insurance.

Two-thirds of snowmobile owners already carry insurance.

Typically it costs $300 to $400 annually to insure one sled. Those with insurance are the responsible, “good-risk” operators, Meyers said.

If the state makes insurance mandatory, “the bottom dwellers” or “bad-risk” operators with poor safety habits would come into the pool, which would drive up costs for the responsible drivers, Meyers said.

This year Vermont has a mandatory liability insurance law, which, Meyers said, has increased premiums 100 percent.

Col. Tim Peabody, chief of the state’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department, also spoke against the bill, saying it would increase costs for both snowmobile and ATV riders.

He said the law also might prod some people to no longer register their sleds or ATVs. Any dip in registrations would cause money problems for the department, which is dependent on the registrations.

Peabody said he was concerned that a mandatory insurance law would be burdensome for his wardens to enforce.

Jim Lane of ATV Maine said mandatory insurance would not be practical, and that some riders would buy insurance only long enough to register their ATVs, then drop it – something that some motor vehicle owners now do.

Matthew Polytzin of Twin Time Rentals in Millinocket said his area is heavily dependent on snowmobile tourism. He carries liability insurance, but not for the rider. It’s solely to protect his business. Polytzin said he’s worried that if riders had to buy insurance, his business would “cease to exist.”

Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques pointed out that while a state task force looking at disputes between ATV operators and landowners considered mandating liability insurance, it did not ultimately recommend it.

The Insurance and Financial Services Committee will take up the bill in a 1 p.m. work session on Feb. 3.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.