Holders of category A and B licenses will be able to drive snowmobiles and ATVs

The Ministry of Economy is developing a bill allowing drivers of passenger cars and motorcycles (category B and A license) to drive snowmobiles and ATVs without passing additional exams. Today, to operate this special equipment, you need to obtain a tractor driver’s license from the Gostekhnadzor bodies subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture. The idea to make it easier for Russians to have access to snowmobiles and ATVs was announced a year ago during a meeting of the State Council for Tourism Development and was supported by the head of state. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture are working on the initiative.

The head of the Ministry of Economy, Maxim Reshetnikov, speaking on Friday at an all-Russian selector on preparing regions for the winter tourist season, announced a bill that would allow citizens to drive snowmobiles if they have a driver’s license of categories A and B. The document, the minister said, was prepared at the request of the constituent entities of the federation and the tourism industry.

In September 2022, Governor of the Kemerovo Region Sergei Tsivilev, speaking at a meeting of the State Council on tourism development, proposed simplifying citizens’ access to special equipment. “In all countries of the world, this is a category B license,” he said. “For foreigners, this is generally unacceptable; they cannot come and ride snowmobiles here.” This initiative, Mr. Tsivilev explained, will give impetus to the development of the snowmobile industry in Russia. He cited data according to which the annual economic effect from this industry in the United States is $26 billion, in Canada – $7 billion. President Vladimir Putin supported the idea. “This apparently remains from the time when the first snowmobiles just appeared,” he said. “Of course, everything must be handed over to the traffic police.”

There is no draft law yet; it is undergoing interdepartmental approval. “We expect to advance this issue in the near future,” said Mr. Reshetnikov. According to Kommersant, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture are working on the details of the document. Holders of category A licenses will be allowed to drive special equipment of category AI (snowmobiles and ATVs) in the forest without going on public roads (this is still prohibited today). Holders of category B licenses will be able to drive snowmobiles only on special tracks: this is due to the fact that owners of passenger cars do not have the skills to drive vehicles with a motorcycle seat (and this is exactly what snowmobiles have) – there will be restrictions for them.

The Ministry of Agriculture told Kommersant that the department “conceptually supports the bill” and is participating in its development. Also, according to Kommersant, a scenario is being discussed in which motorists with category B licenses will be able to drive special equipment of category A2 – all-terrain vehicles, swamp vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons, with no more than eight seats in the cabin. No decisions have been made on this matter yet.

Previously obtained tractor driver licenses will remain valid. Sanctions for violating the rules do not change. For driving a snowmobile or ATV without a license, as for car drivers, a fine of 5 thousand to 15 thousand rubles is applied. Drunk driving is also prohibited – a fine of 30 thousand rubles. or deprivation of rights.

President of the Interregional Association of Driving Schools Tatyana Shutyleva believes that drivers of trucks and buses (categories D and C) can also be allowed to drive snowmobiles: they have higher qualifications than holders of category B. “Everyone who knows how to drive a motorcycle can learn to ride a snowmobile, — says the owner of the Novosibirsk motorcycle school BikeYou, Anton Chibisov. “But it would be nice if rental companies provided minimal instruction before being allowed to drive. Still, there are various nuances, you need to know what counter-steering and stalling are, and understand the trajectory of the snowmobile.”

To popularize tourism, the bill should be supported, adds Evgeniy Litvin, co-chairman of the “Road Safety” working group within the framework of the “regulatory guillotine”. “But we must understand that this is a special type of highly dangerous transport, the management of which requires special skills,” the expert believes. “Powerful snowmobiles are generally capable of causing serious damage to both the driver and others.” Evgeniy Litvin believes that the experiment first needs to be conducted on separate, pre-agreed routes, where drivers with category B will ride snowmobiles and ATVs with a speed limit and without passengers. If the pilot project shows that the number of victims and accidents has not increased, the practice can be extended throughout the country.

Ivan Buranov