Yellowknife (Apr 04/03) - Jason Christensen, 21, died in a snowmobile crash last Saturday. He was driving so fast he didn't see the snow ridge in front of him.

Now, the teenager who was driving behind him and others are urging snowmobilers to slow down.

Bylaw officers have handed out 40 tickets for snowmobile infractions so far this season. Youths age 12-15 must take a snowmobile safety course and be accompanied by someone at least 18. Youths age 12-15 are not allowed to snowmobile on roads. Snowmobilers must have a driver's licence. The speed limit is 30 kilometres an hour when driving off-road in populated areas. Farther out, in areas such as Long Lake and Martin Lake, the speed limit is 70 kilometres an hour. The posted speed limit applies on roads. Snowmobilers must wear helmets.

"You don't think it will happen to you," said Lindsey Rocher on Tuesday. "But it does. It will. Be a cautious driver."

The last time someone died in a snowmobile crash on Frame Lake was in 1992.

The next year, the City of Yellowknife created a bylaw with speed limits. As a result of the bylaw, people stopped speeding as much, said Doug Gillard, manager of the city's municipal enforcement division.

Rocher hopes his friend's death will cause the city to begin marking the long ridges of snow and other hazards on the lakes.

The city's snowmobile bylaw comes up for review in the next couple months.

Chief coroner Percy Kinney is investigating Christensen's death and will come up with recommendations.

Marking the ridges isn't a bad idea, said Kinney. "I'm just not sure if it's workable."

Some of the ridges on the lake are several kilometres long, he pointed out. Marking them with stakes or trees could prove to be a further hazard. And snowfall would quickly cover up spray paint.

"The key here is don't speed," he said.

"If you're going 80 to 100 kilometres an hour, that's the problem."

There is a speed limit of 30 kilometres an hour on Frame Lake for a reason, he added.

"It's not to be mean and say you can't drive snowmobiles fast."

Kinney said protecting snowmobilers and others on the lake requires a combination of legislation, enforcement, education -- and compliance.

"That's what seems to work," he said. "If any one of those fall through, you have a recipe for the things that happened on Saturday."

Fire Chief Mick Beauchamp said he believes the city's bylaw is adequate.

He advises people to take a snowmobile safety course so they are aware of the hazards.

This time of the year, because there's more sun, the snow is harder, he said.

And the faster you go, the harder you're going to hit any hazards.

"You want to be more careful, because it's not like you're hitting powder snow."

Accidents can happen really quickly, he said.

The fire department sees this all the time.

"We've heard talks from all kinds of people who've engaged in high-risk behaviour and paid a big price," he said. "They tell other people not to do it. With some it works, with some it doesn't."

Beauchamp added what happened last weekend was unfortunate. "I really feel for the parents," he said.

Christensen's funeral takes place at 1:30 p.m. today at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church.