Top 10 Safety Tips for Silver Lake

[kb8ymf]

Everyone,
While there are no new rules for Silver Lake this year there is continued emphasis being placed on safety at the park. As you will note in Pete's letter below, safety record in the park is quite dismal.
We are being asked for input on safety suggestion. Read the below message and post up your suggestions. I will formulate a response for Pete and include our Top 10.
Thanks,
Jim-kb8ymf

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Attention: Bill Gilbert (MASA), Dwayne Knoll (MSBA), Jim Mazzola (GL4WDA), Lewis Shuler (CCC), and Richard Rondeau (Off-Road Venture)

Gentlemen, I have a request to make of you and your organization's expertise in off-roading. The Silver Lake Chamber of Commerce, through their ORV Area Dune Safety Campaign which began last year, are trying to develop a list of the "top ten" safe driving tips that could be used to address specific vehicles that use the Silver Lake ORV Area.

These top ten tips would be listed both on their web site www.dunesafety.com (http://www.dunesafety.com/) and in signage we hope to use throughout the ORV Area and local community. The thought is to have at least four different posters (ATV, OHM, 4X4, Dune Buggy) with information aimed
directly at the vehicle depicted in photo or art work that deals with that vehicle. We need ideas of what those top ten items should be from the perspective of the rider/operator. Perhaps we should also look at RUVs (recreational utility vehicles/side-by-side/Rangers, Mule, Gator, etc) and ORVs in general, but thought the place to start is with the most common.

Any assistance you could give us would be greatly appreciated. We are looking for not only safety tip ideas, but also other sources (addresses, web sites, etc) where we can direct folks to get good answers to their riding/operating questions... in particular the subject of safe operation. As you all most likely know the accident record at Silver Lake is really pretty poor and that does no good for anyone or anything... the SLORV Area users, the off-roading sport at-large, the local community and businesses, Silver Lake State Park, and the State of Michigan as a place to visit and safely enjoy the great out-of-doors.

This is an on going project that we hope will grow over the coming years to involve both the State Park and the local community. Your help will go along way towards those ends.
Any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

Thanks for your time and thoughts in advance,

Pete

Peter G. LundBorg, Unit Manager
Silver Lake State Park / Hart-Montague-Berry Junction Trail
9679 - W State Park Road
Mears, Michigan 49436

[mitrail400ex]

How about:
-Be aware of others around you. This includes NOT blindly jumping dunes (use a spotter at the crest).
-Don't follow anyone directly up a dune. They might not make it up, so they may have to back down to give it another shot.
-Wheelies and/or stunts on the hills might look cool, but it puts you, your passengers, and other riders/ drivers at a severe risk of collision.
-Be concious of your blind spots, even more so than on the road. Dirtbikers and ATVs are often hard to see in the larger blind spots of lifter full-sizers.
-Drive defensive; Don't leave it up to the other guy to stop, swerve, or get out of your way. If both you and another driver react, it's just a minor inconvenience. If neither of you react, things can be much worse.
-Use common sense; orange flags typically don't move themselves. If you see a flag coming over a hill in your direction, you might want to move.
-"Rest on the crest". Don't stop on the back or front side of any dune. Use the crest, so that people coming from either direction can see you and avoid hitting you.
-Tow strap vs Recovery strap; if you don't know the difference, you're best off leaving the extraction to someone who does.
-NO METAL HOOKS! Use your head for something other than a catchers mitt for a large metal object.

Those are just some that I've seen in my many trips to the dunes.

[phittie1100]

I hate to sound like a nanny, but following the simple signsalready in place in the ORV area would help a lot. "25mph" by the lake means 25 not 40. One Way Travel markers are there for safety, not just because the dunes look better with contracting red signs every 150 yards. I know it's cool to have a rig that will do donuts on the face of test hill, but it's not the safest practice in the world.

And maybe something about changing weather conditions affecting the dunes. A lot of the accidents that happened during my visits last year were caused or made worse by the wind and rain changing the terrain from one day to the next. Almost did me in during a trip in June - fortunately I drive like an over-anal accountant!

[Jarhead]

Following the ONE WAY Signs.

No U-Turns on the face of the dune if your attempt to get up and over fails.

No driving across the face of dune (especially test hill).