§ 25.19 Operation by youthful operators. 1. Age of operation. No person under eighteen years of age shall operate a snowmobile except as provided for in this subdivision. (a) No person under the age of fourteen years shall operate a snowmobile except upon land owned or leased by his or her parent or guardian. Leased lands as used in this section shall not include lands leased by an organization of which said operator or his or her parent or guardian is a member.(b) A person ten years of age or older but less than fourteen years of age who holds a valid snowmobile safety certificate issued by the commissioner may operate a snowmobile on any lands upon which snowmobiling is allowed if accompanied by a person over eighteen years of age. For the purpose of this section, "accompanied" shall mean within five hundred feet of the person over eighteen years of age.
(c) A person fourteen years of age or older but less than eighteen years of age, who either holds a valid snowmobile safety certificate issued by the commissioner or is accompanied by a person over eighteen years of age, may operate a snowmobile in the same manner as a person over eighteen years of age. 2. Exhibition of certificate. The failure of a person specified in subdivision one of this section to hold a snowmobile safety certificate issued by the commissioner to exhibit such upon demand to any magistrate, peace officer, acting pursuant to his or her special duties, police officer, or other person having authority to enforce the provisions of this article, shall not be an offense, but shall be presumptive evidence that such person is not the holder of such certificate. 3. Authorization. No owner of a snowmobile shall authorize or permit the operation of his or her snowmobile within the state by any person in violation of the provisions of this section.
