Local officials are welcoming news the province is bringing in online safety training for snowmobilers across Ontario.

The Ford government says they’re responding to a long-standing request from the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs.

North Bay Snowmobile Club public relations and marketing director Shawn Flindall says it’s good news, especially with more and more riders joining in the fun in recent years.

“Along with that spike in ridership has obviously come a spike in incidents, so anything that makes online training, or safety better, is a good thing,” he says.

Overall, Flindall says it’s a general safety course.

“How to ride properly, how to signal properly, how to be smart about the conditions and how to be smart about safety,” he says.

Safety and licensing courses have historically been taught in-class and Flindall says the idea here is to be able to serve more people in more remote locations.

One concern is that some remote locations may not have the greatest internet access, so there could be issues with accessing the training.

“Obviously we have some concerns about accessibility to the online training, but as I say, anything to make it easier for people to obtain safety conscious messaging is a good thing,” Flindall says.

 

File photo

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