if you have to drive on the ice get away from the shore!! In my findings the shore is always much thinner, you are best off to glide 50-100 yards off shore . Banks of twin drop off right away, 5" of ice at shore 2 feet 20 yards out. There could be springs and runoff,near shore the water could be more shallow causing thinner ice. Yet at the same time there could be a hump in the middle of the lake and the water could warm quicker in the sun making for thin ice. Ice driving is ALWAYS a risk especially these past couple years. We put a quad through last year on Badger. The ice was 12 inches or so, ended up on a sand bar and crashed in. Luckily there was only 3 feet of water. We were wet to the waist and managed to lift the quad out got very lucky. It was late season and the ice was getting soft. There were trucks out too so we figured it safe--not the case!