Snowmobile, ATV privileges could be revoked after DWI

A loophole in state law allows someone convicted of drunken driving to still have permission to operate a snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle.

The issue came to light after 8-year-old Alan Geisenkoetter Jr. died in January, five days after being struck by a snowmobile going at a high rate of speed and operated by someone who told authorities he had been drinking. The driver has three previous DWI convictions and his driver’s license has been revoked three times.

Rep. Anne Neu (R-North Branch) represents the Chisago County area where the deadly incident occurred.

She sponsors a trio of bills to prohibit a person who commits a DWI offense in any vehicle from operating a snowmobile or ATV for one year.

The proposals would also eliminate current law that exempts a person from a driver’s license revocation if their first DWI offense occurs while using a motorboat or off-road recreational vehicle.

HF3924 was approved Wednesday by the House Public Safety and Security Policy and Finance Committee and sent to the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, where a matching bill, HF3905, currently resides. The House Transportation and Regional Governance Policy Committee approved HF3923 Monday and sent it to the public safety committee.

Sen. Mark Koran (R-North Branch) sponsors the Senate companions, SF3636, SF3637 and SF3638. They await action in the Senate judiciary, environment and transportation committees, respectively.

Representing the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association, Christian Franzen called the bill “a step in the right direction.”