(ARA) – The ice is starting to melt and that meansrecreationalists should take care. While you’re zipping through the winter wonderland on your sport vehicle this month, keep safety in mind. Each year, more than 50 people drown in the United States and Canada when their snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles plunge through thin ice. Alcohol use, poor visibility, lack of personal flotation devices and driving on soft ice or open water are common contributing factors in these deaths. Most accidents, however, are entirely preventable if recreationalists follow safe, and smart, operating practices. Many injury prevention organizations encourage riders to be safe as they drive their sport vehicles at high speeds and through uncertain terrain. By being responsible and following a few simple tips, drivers can prevent most drowning accidents.

Wear the Appropriate Gear Dress for the weather; hypothermia is a concern for all winter recreationalists. Warm, layered and waterproof clothing will ensure you retain body heat while driving at high speeds. A helmet will also protect you from head injuries if you crash or fall from the vehicle. Be Aware of Surroundings and Conditions It’s not always easy to spot thin ice on frozen lakes and rivers. You may not be aware of risky ice until you’ve already crashed through it. Know the ice and weather conditions expected during the day of your ride. Be cautious while riding along unfamiliar paths and while crossing frozen waterways, roadways, rail tracks or intersections. Riders should also watch out for other motorists that are driving in the vicinity. Be a courteous driver. If others exhibit reckless driving behaviors over icecovered bodies of water, or even on solid terrain, keep a safe distance from them or even seek a different trail. Review Local Laws Snowmobile and ATV drivers must follow set rules and regulations, just as drivers of any other motorized vehicles must. These laws were created to keep you and other drivers safe. The laws enforced for snowmobiles and ATVs differ by state as well as city, so review and understand the laws for the area you plan to ride in before you begin. Know How to Handle Your Vehicle Because winter recreational vehicles come out one season a year, you may be out of practice at the beginning of the season. Know and respect your driving skills and your vehicle’s limitations. Before riding in a heavy traffic area, practice your riding techniques to reacquaint yourself with driving. Know your vehicle and keep it in good working order. Before heading out on a trip, follow a short routine to check that your vehicle is running smoothly. Every year, many drowning accidents occur when vehicles malfunction while driving over ice or open water. Also, plan ahead for your trip and let others know of your plans. If you know the length of your ride, make sure you have enough fuel to complete your ride. Drive Sober Driving a recreational vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a dangerous, and many times fatal, mistake. Drugs and alcohol impair vision, decrease reaction times and inhibit a driver’s ability to make sound decisions. Insobriety is often a contributing factor to recreational vehicle accidents. Use Appropriate Equipment Sometimes a crash through thin ice is unavoidable. Consider installing a life-saving flotation device on your recreational vehicle for those times when you’ve done everything right but still find yourself in harm’s way. Options like the Nebulus Emergency Flotation Device can mean the difference between survival and disaster. Contained in a compact, soft, rugged shell, the device attaches easily to any vehicle and, with the pull of a rip cord, provides temporary flotation for up to 1,000 pounds. Once inflated, the flotation device can be carried, pushed or paddled to rescue other victims or move you out of harm’s way. Law enforcement and emergency crews throughout the country have used the Nebulus to save countless lives. By following these tips, drivers can help prevent the number of fatal accidents that occur each year from drowning.

To learn more about the Nebulus Flotation Device, call (800) 682-8039 or visit

www.nebulusflotation.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

St. Paul Pioneer Press

December 7, 2007

An idea that really floated

The image of a snowmobiler’s drowning led an engineering grad to his alma mater and collaboration with the U’s Design Morphology class. Thus was born the Nebulus.

BY JENNIFER BJORHUS
Pioneer Press

John Weinel clearly recalls that winter morning in 1992. He was having a cup of coffee at his house on Crystal Lake in Lakeville. Out his window he could see a gathering of police officers. There was a hole in the ice, about 100 feet from shore. 

The night before, a 27-year old newlywed had set out across Crystal Lake to show his father-in-law his new snowmobile. He never made it, and his father-in-law went out in search. 

The tragedy moved Weinel. Why, he recalled telling his wife, wasn’t there some kind of safety device on a snowmobile that could pop from the seat, like air bags in cars, to float them? The question nagged at him. He had a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota, though he worked selling industrial signs for a local company. 

In an astute move, Weinel approached his alma mater with his question. The mechanical engineering department adopted Weinel’s ideas as a case study for Design Projects, a required course for seniors in which they work on group projects and exhibit them each semester. In 1999, a team of six students built the first Nebulus. 

Looking something like a red throw pillow, the Nebulus is a compact, 20-cubic-foot life raft that explodes out of a red nylon sack and can save someone from drowning. It can be built into a snowmobile seat, where it’s triggered by water hitting three metal points that fire a carbon dioxide canister. Weinel said it can float three adults and keep the snowmobile hanging just below the surface. 

That version, however, isn’t on the market yet. What is sold is the hand-held version many cops and firefighters carry. It inflates when a rip cord is yanked and metal pins puncture the CO2 canister. Weinel said he was surprised to learn no one had created such a device because first responders to water accidents often spend crucial minutes in search of a boat or a long branch or rope to throw to victims. 

“For decades, cops have been standing on the shore, waiting for the fire department to show up,” he said. “Nothing takes longer than the fire department to show up when a kid’s drowning.” 

Weinel’s company, JTW Associates in Lakeville, markets the hand-held Nebulus on the Web and by advertising in trade magazines such as “American Police Beat” and “Fire Chiefs.” Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources is his single biggest customer. Other buyers include an Indian tribe in Alaska and sheriff’s departments across the country. 

Weinel has supplied thousands of samples to groups for free test runs, including the Minnesota DNR, which has some 200 of the devices lashed to ATV racks in vehicle trunks. He’s also supplied the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Forest Service and various state highway patrols. 

The Nebulus doesn’t carry safety ratings because it isn’t regulated, Weinel said. The U.S. Coast Guard, which approves personal flotation devices, told him that because it isn’t attached to a person or an oceangoing vessel, the Nebulus doesn’t fall under its jurisdiction. 

Weinel said he applied to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission but was told it doesn’t regulate such products. 

Weinel said he probably will submit the electrical version of the Nebulus to Underwriters Laboratories in Northbrook, Ill., for safety testing once he has perfected a system that can withstand neglect - the snowmobile that sits in the yard for 10 years. UL safety-tests most electrical products, such as smoke detectors and blow-dryers, but also tests some nonelectrical products including lifejackets, a spokesman said. 

So far the lack of safety certification hasn’t hurt Nebulus sales, Weinel said, but most sales aren’t to the general public. 

He said he’s still working to break into the sports market, which he considers the true market for the Nebulus. Sled makers Polaris Industries Inc. and Arctic Cat Inc. have both bought a few, Weinel said, but no major manufacturer has committed to installing them. Yet. 

JTW is perfecting the snowmobile seat version to create a self-contained electronic system that will fire reliably even when a sled has been left out in the yard. The company wants to approach Polaris with a $200-$300 system, Weinel said. It’s also developing a fanny-pack version that could float a snowmobiler caught in an avalanche. As many as 30 snowmobilers die each year in avalanches in North America, according to Weinel. 

His strategy for developing the Nebulus is about as smart as the device itself. By collaborating with the U, Weinel gained invaluable brain power and elbow grease in exchange for the cost of providing materials and his own time to hold meetings with students and help supervise work. He bankrolled his startup with savings and retirement. 

Over the years, some 150 student engineers at the University of Minnesota helped perfect the Nebulus, Weinel said. During finals week, with the pressure on, students would live in his Lakeville shop, crashing in sleeping bags on the floor. 

“It’s the best thing the University of Minnesota offers,” Weinel said of the program. “It was fun. I loved it.” 

That’s high praise, considering Weinel himself was dragged in front of the dean of engineering three times for being a slacker, as he tells it. 

“I wanted to be a journalist,” said Weinel, 47. “My family wanted me to be an engineer.”