It’s time. No, actually it’s long past time for government to introduce legislation making it mandatory for snowmobile riders to wear approved helmets throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Why this hasn’t been done long before now, I have absolutely no idea.

Hey, I’ll be completely honest here. I’m not a big fan of wearing helmets while riding my quad at a reasonable speed. But I wear one for a couple of very good reasons: First off, it’s the law. Secondly - and most importantly - for safety reasons. I know I have a much, much greater chance of surviving an accident if I’m wearing a helmet.

Could I still fracture ribs, dislocate a shoulder or injure my back? Sure I could. But I’d survive those injuries. Strike your non-protected skull on a rock, frozen pond or some other solid object, however, and your chances of recovering are diminished significantly.

Have people been killed or seriously injured even while wearing a helmet. Unfortunately, yes, just as people wearing seat belts don’t always survive a car accident. There will be exceptions.

As it now stands, a person must wear a helmet while driving a quad or trike, but you can cruise around on a snowmobile wearing a pretty little toque. What do people think is under the few inches of snow we often travel over - beds of pussy willows?

I won’t get into age limits and power restrictions for drivers and machines here. That issue is considerably more complicated. Making helmet use mandatory for snowmobile riders, however, is a no-brainer. Simple. Nothing complicated about it whatsoever. And they can keep your face from becoming frostbitten, too.

I know in the past this province has been a little slow off the mark when it came to laws, rules and regulations, such as taking so long to allow our police and wildlife officers to carry firearms. And from what I can gather, helmet use on snowmobiles - for drivers and passengers - is already mandatory in most provinces across the country. Why not here?

I’ve asked several people in recent years why helmet use is not mandatory on snowmobiles. I have yet to get an answer.

Surely, snowmobile manufacturers and dealers would also like to see this become law. They don’t want to hear of people being killed or injured, even if - as we all know - accidents are virtually always the fault of drivers, rather than their machines.

Police can only enforce regulations that are there, so it’s time for lawmakers to put something in place; have it ready for the next sitting of the House of Assembly. There won’t be any great amount of debate because there’ll be no need for it, then come next winter, the law will be in place.