Pursuant to Minnesota snowmobile safety laws, all snowmobiles operated on public lands, waters, or roadways must be equipped as follows:
(A) Helmets. Operators or riders under 18 years of age must wear an approved helmet, except when participating in a parade or operating on land belonging to a parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, or aunt. An approved helmet must meet federal law, which requires the helmet to display the symbol DOT. DOT is the manufacturer’s certification that the helmet conforms to motor vehicle safety standards. Standard bicycle and hockey helmets are not legal helmets for snowmobiling.
(B) Lights.
(1) Headlights and taillights must be on during hours of darkness.
(2) Headlights must be able to reveal people and vehicles 100 feet ahead and aimed so they will not blind an oncoming snowmobiler.
(3) Colored lenses on headlights are not lawful when the snowmobile is operated on roads or road rights-of-way, including crossing roads and operating in ditches or outside slopes.
(4) Red taillights must be visible for 500 feet to the rear of the snowmobile.
(C) Brakes. Brakes must be able to control movement and to stop and hold the snowmobile track.
(D) Reflector material.
(1) Snowmobiles must have at least 16 square inches of reflector material on each side forward of the handle bars.
(2) Any sled, trailer, or other device that is towed by a snowmobile during hours of darkness must display visible reflector material on each side and at the rear.
(E) Mufflers.
(1) Snowmobiles must be equipped with mufflers that are in good working order and that do not produce sharp popping or cracking sounds or excessive or unusual noise. After-market exhaust systems may not meet this requirement and may not be lawful to operate.
(2) You may not operate or sell a snowmobile built on or after 4-1-1975, that exceeds 78 decibels on the A scale at 50 feet, except under a permit of the DNR or county sheriff.
(3) No snowmobile shall be modified by any person in any manner that shall amplify or otherwise increase total noise level above that emitted by the snowmobile as originally equipped, regardless of date of manufacture.
Penalty, see § 10.99