I agree that a snowmobiling dui should definitely be tied to one's drivers license. Also, why does snowmobiling need to be a 24 hour a day sport. If their was a curfew from 11pm to 6am, many of the worst offenders would off the trails. It would be easier to enforce; if your on the trail after 11pm, you are in violation and now law enforcement could legally check your sobriety. It would still allow sledders to attend their favorite restaurants and have plenty of time to return home. It would also allow for a quiet time for all those unlucky enough to be located near a trail(I speak from experience; its like someone revving up a chainsaw in the middle of the night). Snowmobiling is touted as a family sport - what family activity takes place after 11pm. Yes, it would be inconvenient for the few that enjoy sledding when the trails are less busy and for some ice fisherman but in terms of potential lives saved, convenience shouldn't enter the discussion. One last point; it seems that fatalities are the only data entered. How about all the non-fatal crashes that occur and the countless number of accidents that go unreported(many due to drinking). Talk to the local EMT's.

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Sue,
I was extremely upset with the comment that Senator Decker made about the law staying the way it is because a snowmobile is not a motorized vehicle so we should not have tough laws for people who drive drunk on them. Not his exact words but that was clearly his meaning, perhaps he should consult his dictionary before he makes such ignorant comments. Thank God I did not vote for him. Laws should be tough enough for drunk drivers no matter the mode of transportation that an individual chooses to use. Lillie

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I really don't think law enforcement should patrol the trails. It contributes to us losing more freedom. I think it is the responsibiltiy of each individual to be safe. If you are going to snowmobile a trail you should know the trails you will be traveling. Study a map and find corners or other dangers. If you ride a trail frequently, try not to become complacent.

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Anytime someone gets killed or injured it is truly a tradegy, however the responsible person must accept the consequences for their careless actions. No law or change in legislation will make a difference unless each individual starts to take responsibility for their carelessness in drinking and driving no matter what equipment they operate be it a car, snowmobile, boat, jet ski, ATV or any other recreational vehicle. The bars and other small businesses up North can barely survive now (as evident by how many close after we have a couple of bad snow years). The last thing we need is to ruin the sport os snowmobiling by over regulating it. Like we did with the personal watercraft industry/sport. Look at it this way it's life some people end theirs sooner because of thier own stupidity. It's called the process of natural selection, and no matter how many laws you try making you cannot and will not stop it. Making small businesses suffer will not stop it. Just like this smoking ban. These bar,tavern and resort owners are seeing their dreams taken away from them by the bleeding heart liberals who wanna save the world. it isn't fair and should be stopped. Please people, when are you gunna realize that Liberalism is a Mental Disorder. Is mommy Clinton gunna take of you? Maybe that nice lady Susan Ramset will. How about you take care of and be responsible for your dam self and quit blaming everything on someone else.

Shane Stevens Point/tree hugger central

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"It makes great sense to me to suspend or revoke the driving license of drunken snowmobile operators, like they did in Michigan and Minnesota. This has made a measurable difference in these states – snowmobile deaths are down.

And while you’re at it, tell elected officials to crack down on bartenders and establishments that overserve, promote excessive drinking with promotions, and generally line their pockets at the expense of others’ lives. I know taverns are an important revenue and tax base in Wisconsin, but pushing alcohol is out of balance with good sense, proven facts and community responsibility."

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i first also want to start by saying that it is soory to hear anytime a person gets killed on a snowmobile. the thing that upsets me the most tho is all the bad mouthing that the northwoods is getting because this man was killed. I feel that if you want to drink and ride a sled that is your own stupidity evenmore so when you do not truly know how to ride and do not know the area you are in. I do not know the numbers but if you look at the numbers of the people killed on a snowmobile and look at the ones that were not from the area and the number of which do not ride often i bet that most of the deaths will fall under atleast one if not both of those facts. Also i do not think it should not be/can not be the bartenders falt thank you to the dramshop law that wisconsin does not have. Coming from a family that has owned a bar in norther vilis for 12 years i agree that would be niuce if we could get safe ride home like many other counties around us have witch would open up another option to people that have been drinking to get home other than jumping on ther seld or car

P.S. sorry again to hear of the man that got killed but the thing that is even more sad is we would not even have heard of this as much as we have if it was just an everyday person but now that it is a big shot from chicago it seems the blam has to be put on someone other then the two drunk guys that jumped on a sled and got killed

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I will admit that I agree with what most of the people are saying on the blog, but this has always been a problem and I find it funny that a news anchor had to die for someone to realize this. I have been riding for the past several years and the drinking is only getting worse. Don't get me wrong my condolences go out to the family but if he was not a news anchor no one would even know he died.
Amd I have to put blam on the news anchor not just the guy that was driving. After all weren't they both drunk!!! Kaye

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mr. Savini, if you like interviewing people so much why don't interview the best friend that killed him. I would be very cautious if I were you to come us north because you know we have the three s rule up here. Shoot, shovel, shutup. Kristin

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I BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD BE YOUR OWN PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE THE BARTENDER CANNOT ALWAYS TELL IF YOU HAVE HAD TO MUCH. WHO WOULD PAY FOR EXTRA LAW ENFORCEMENT,US! aND ANOTHER THING THERE IS NO REASON FOR SNOWMOBILES TO BE MADE TO RUN OVER 100MPH. THE TWO RIGHT THERE ARE AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN. SANDY

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people need to stop blaming the bar owners and bartenders, start blaming the snowmobliers. They are adults, who should know when they should quit drinking.

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Hello,

Thanks,

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I don't snowmobile so why beat me over the head with these stories.

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Susan -

Sue - Antigo

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Hi Sue, yesterday evening's blog responses showed up just after I sent my comment stating - due to increasing heat from the community on this issue I thought you & Channel 7 were deciding to bail on this story. Sorry, I guess I was getting a little inpatient. After viewing these responses I'd like to offer you credit for posting the community's comments on an unbiased basis. Its apparent that all of the community's viewpoints are being listed whether for or against Channel 7's report.

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I would like to see a comparable story done at the bars in the summer when the bikers are there, at the lakeside restaurants and bars when the boats are there, at the golf course clubhouses during golf season, at the Packer games in the parking lot, or at the Badger games. You are unfairly singling out snowmobiling as the problem when it is the long heritage of drinking in Wisconsin that is the real story. Snowmobiling just happens to be one of the many activities that are affected by irresponsible people.

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Sue,
It is sad that someone lost their life. I just think it's sad that it had to be an out of state anchor that has the focus on a very touchy subject in northern Wisconsin. Many brothers, uncles, fathers, mothers, ect. have already lost their lives to this and nobody focuses on them. They were people too but because they aren't in the media they don't get the recognition that this man has. Being a very avid snowmobiler I can agree that changes have to be made. I (and I know many snowmobilers will disagree and I also know that just as many will agree) think that there should be stiff penalties for drinking and driving on snowmobiles. Do I blame the bartenders/owners? Of course not. They are people in the part of the state that depend on tourism. Any bartender who tries to make a living on tips is not going to run people out the door for drinking. And many of these bartenders don't encourage drinking. Just because some of them seem not to care doesn't make them them all guilty. And EVERY ONE of those establisments offer non-alcoholic alternatives and are also eating establishments! I almost laughed out loud when the out of town anchor on your evening news pointed it out that our local snow clubs were kind enough to put all the taverns on the snowmobile maps. Has the man ever heard of the cost of printing? These establishments are members of these snow clubs. There membership money goes toward the printing of these maps and trail maintenance. Not every tavern in the area or on these maps - only the pit stops. And did he also notice that there are motels, gas stations, grocery stores, motor sport type places, ect. To point the finger at any one other than the individual is rediculous to me. Since we are at it lets point the finger at the beer companies and the snowmobile manufacturers. Seems like a good idea to me in todays society where no one is held accountable for their actions. Play the blame game. Don't point the finger at the guy who did wrong. Blame it on their parents, the cigarette companies and so on. But not the guy who done whatever he did. We also see MANY, MANY snowmobilers who make the right choice. I have never seen a bartender dump whiskey down a snowmobilers neck or try to change their minds when they ordered a Coke. Also, the snowmobile safety instructors stress what happens to you when you make the choice to drink and drive to the kids in their classes.
I am glad that there is light being shed on this. However - did anyone bother talking to normal people when they went on their under cover story? I really loved the man who seemed proud that he had jumped on his sled while drinking thousands of times. Please ask them to talk to someone who has a brain in their head next time. I wonder if they had and those people had been edited out because it didn't make a good story or got their message across? Thanks for your time.
Elaine

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Well. as many people know. it is illegal to drink and drive, even though most people still do it. I just don't understand why Randy Salerno from Illinois decided to get on that snowmobile with the driver drunk. For what I understand he wasn't drunk and for many people I would think that they would have common sense. Another thing is, so many people die because of their stupidity and you never go into such detail compared to the story about Randy Salerno. That's all you hear now is that story over and over again. I wouldn't be surprised if this story is still being said when snowmobile season is over. I guess that is the down side to snowmobile season. Idiots from Illionis come up and drink, and sometimes kill innocent people going out for a Sunday drive.

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It is the driver's responsibility to operate his or her machine in a safe manner, period. Do not drink on a snowmobile, and operate it within your own capabilities. If drivers choose not to follow these simple safety rules, they may kill themselves or somebody else, simple as that. Nobody is ever forced to drink alcohol at a place of business, nor is anybody forced to crack the throttle open more than they should. Shame on Channel 7 for allowing this so-called journalism to hit the airwaves.

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For those of you hammering WSAW Ch. 7 for going undercover....hello, remember good old fashioned investigative journalism? I don't believe you really want to see this go the way of dinosaur. Seems we've forgotten about the freedom protecting merits of investigative journalims in this country in recent years -- the search for truth is silenced by cries of privacy and interference. And yet we bemoan government and corporate corruption going unchecked. Why? because the practice of investigative journalism has been bought off by lobbyists and media moguls. And you just go along with it.

Sue Allen
Westfield, WI

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Hi Sue, looks like you've stopped posting Blog responses on this issue. I talked to a number of people who posted responses yesterday evening and as of yet none of their responses have been posted? It also looks like this issue struck a nerve. Now that the general public heat is on you're backing off? Looks like your biased report isn't the community service report you bragged it up to be? I'm beginning to realise that Channel 7 doesn't really care about being a service to its viewing community. Its all about the ratings.......Right?