Hi snowmobilers!

I am conducting a research study along with Dr. Charles Tator, president of ThinkFirst Canada and chair of ThinkFirst-SportSmart Canada. (ThinkFirst is a national injury prevention agency and charity that is concerned about investigating and preventing the injuries that snowmobilers suffer.)

I would need your help to complete this study, as I would like to collect information on snowmobilers' riding habits as well as their evaluation of a new snowmobile-safety website that ThinkFirst Canada will launch in the future. The study should take less than 30 minutes to complete, and it is based entirely on-line.

Below you will find some information (and all the lingo required by my research ethics board) about this study. I would greatly appreciate your participation, but this is (obviously) completely voluntary.


PROJECT NAME:
The official name of this research study is: "Development and Formative Evaluation of an On-Line Injury-Prevention Resource for Snowmobilers".

PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH:
Snowmobilers will evaluate a new safety website. They will also answers questions about their attitudes and behaviours. We will try to see how these attitudes and behaviours relate to their evaluations. The results will be used to further improve the website.

STUDY PROCEDURES:
Participants will first complete a brief on-line survey. They will first be asked about their demographics. After that, they will be asked about their snowmobiling attitudes and behaviours. Participants will then be shown the new website. They will have a chance to view it and read its contents. Finally, participants will complete a second survey. This survey will ask about their thoughts about the website. As well, it will ask about their attitudes and future intentions.

STUDY BENEFITS:
Participants can learn about snowmobiling safety. They can also help contribute to the improvement of a snowmobiling safety website.

STUDY RISKS:
There are no obvious risks to the study. However, reading about snowmobiling safety could bring up unpleasant memories from the past.


TO BE COMPLETED BY INTERESTED PARTICIPANTS:
I have read through this documentation. I understand what is being asked of me.

I am at least 16 years old and I have an OFSC trail permit. I agree to participate in the ways described. If I want any changes, I will write them below or talk to the researcher before agreeing to participate.

I understand that I am free to withdraw from the study at any time. I understand that if I participate, I can choose not to answer some questions. If I do participate, I will allow the researcher to use my answers for the purposes of this study.

If I do not wish to participate, I can just ignore this message.

If you agree with the above, please send an e-mail to alex.grunfeld@utoronto.ca. In the e-mail, include the sentence, "I agree to participate in this study." Also, please provide your name and today’s date. Your name will be kept entirely confidential. If you reply, you will receive a second e-mail. This e-mail will contain more detailed instructions.


Thank you very much,

Best wishes,

Alex Grunfeld
Class of 2009, Faculty of Medicine,
University of Toronto
alex.grunfeld@utoronto.ca

Dr. Charles Tator
ThinkFirst-SportSmart Canada
750 Dundas St. West, Suite 3-314
Toronto, ON M6J 3S3
(416) 915-6565

Count me in!

you wont get an accurate analysis of the "wrong doer's" is my prediction. those that have poor riding habits tend to keep it to themselves or not frequent this type of site that ofter...

bang on dude , i know a few guys that ride like total idiots and they think the other people are the problem , they feel there is nothing wrong with what they , hell read some of the comments on this site sometimes guys bragging about their shit they did while out riding and if anyone calls them on it they get all off side and let the mud fling begin .....

so good luck to these guys with the study , but i,m sure they must be getting some funding from someone to pass the time .

exactly my thoughts Dude....the "riding drunks and wannabes" won't participate or be honest....the survey is tainted before it gets off the ground.....I check it out tho..

but if they think everyone else is the problem wont they say what they do because they think its right?

I completely agree with your concerns about the validity of a survey that would try to target only dangerous riders on this forum--but that's not the point of the study. The goal of the new safety website is to offer an educational resource for younger snowmobilers before they start adopting "bad" habits (rather than targeting older snowmobilers with ingrained habits). The results of the survey will simply help to highlight the shortcomings of the website as it exists in its current state.

There currently is no well-designed and comprehensive snowmobile safety website for riders in Ontario that lists all the relevant tips, legislation, enforcement programs, and so forth. Even though the website may not help change the behaviours of the most risky riders, it may still help lower the number of riders who begin to practice risky riding.

So, the purpose of my survey at this point is simply to gather input from riders about the usefulness and usability of the new ThinkFirst website, and how it needs to be improved. I figured that users of this forum may help me out with this.

Thanks!

Let us know what we can do and I'm sure you will get an excellent response.

However, this website is called "hardcoresledder" and thus you will have members, including myself that do things on their snowmobile that others might very well consider "risky", and in some cases it very well is "risky"... My point is the OFSC and even the media promotes a form of snowmobiling that doesn't appeal to most riders, especially on here...

Alex I completed the survey....are you a rider yourself?

Dude

I completed the survey and basically too the approach against drinking and riding but did not support speed limit reductions, age restrictions etc....

Alex, I sent you an email. Look forward to it!

"In for a dime, in for a dollar"
As everyone else has indicated, You may be preaching to the converted.
Keep us informed.

Kim