Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 350 - Snowmobiles.
350.09 - Head lamps, tail lamps and brakes, etc.

350.09 Head lamps, tail lamps and brakes, etc.
(1) Any snowmobile operated during the hours of darkness or operated during daylight hours on any highway right-of-way shall display a lighted head lamp and tail lamp. A person operating a snowmobile during the hours of darkness or adjacent to a roadway shall dim the snowmobile's head lamp when an oncoming snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, utility terrain vehicle, or motor vehicle is within 500 feet.
(2) After February 12, 1970, the head lamp on a snowmobile may be of the single beam or multiple beam type, but in either case shall comply with the following requirements and limitations:
(a) The head lamp shall be an electric head lamp and the current shall be supplied by a wet battery and electric generator, by a current-generating coil incorporated into the magneto or by a generator driven directly by the motor by means of gears, friction wheel, chain or belt.
(b) The head lamp shall display a white light of sufficient illuminating power to reveal any person, vehicle or substantial object at a distance of 200 feet ahead.
(c) If the snowmobile is equipped with a multiple beam head lamp, the upper beam shall meet the minimum requirements set forth in par. (b) and the lower most beam shall be so aimed and of sufficient intensity to reveal persons and vehicles at a distance of at least 100 feet ahead.
(d) If the snowmobile is equipped with a single beam lamp, such lamp shall be so aimed that when the vehicle is loaded none of the high intensity portion of the light, at a distance of 25 feet ahead, projects higher than the level of the center of the lamp from which it comes.
(3) After February 12, 1970, the tail lamp on a snowmobile must display a red light plainly visible during darkness from a distance of 500 feet to the rear.
(4) Every snowmobile shall be equipped with at least one brake operated either by hand or by foot, capable of bringing the snowmobile to a stop, under normal conditions, within 40 feet when traveling at a speed of 20 miles per hour with a 150 pound driver on a level, hard-packed snow surface, or capable of locking the track on a level, hard-packed snow surface. The design shall permit simple and easy adjustment to compensate for wear. There shall be no other control linked to the brake which impairs braking operation.
(5) All snowmobiles manufactured after July 1, 1972, and offered for sale or sold in this state shall be equipped with side marker reflectors meeting the visibility requirements of society of automotive engineers standards or reflex material standards in compliance with federal specifications.
(8) Section 350.095 does not apply to snowmobiles competing in a sanctioned race or derby or to snowmobiles being tested by manufacturers, distributors or dealers on lands under their control.
(8m) No person may operate, offer for sale or sell a snowmobile that is manufactured after May 7, 1994, if the width of the snowmobile exceeds 48 inches.
(9) All snowmobiles competing in a sanctioned race or derby shall be equipped with a device wired into the motor's electrical system that will shut off the motor if the operator falls from the snowmobile or otherwise leaves the operator's position. The device shall be capable of being attached to the body of the operator, and shall be so attached when the snowmobile is being operated.
History: 1971 c. 277; 1981 c. 295; 1993 a. 436; 2005 a. 210; 2021 a. 103.
Operation does not include the act of sitting on a parked snowmobile with its engine off. A person was not negligent per se for failing to have the head and tail lamps illuminated on a snowmobile that was not running at the time of an accident. Burg v. Cincinnati Casualty Insurance Co. 2002 WI 76, 254 Wis. 2d 36, 645 N.W.2d 880, 00-3258.