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Winter Tires: What to think?

Do you think Winter Tires should be mandatory for passenger vehicles in Winter State?

  • I think all passenger vehicles should be required to have winter tires

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I think the penalties for getting into an accident witout winter tires should be greater

    Votes: 3 14.3%
  • I don't need somebody telling me what tires to use. If you're worried about accidents, stay home.

    Votes: 18 85.7%

  • Total voters
    21

JiFaire

Lieutenant
Staff member
Lead Moderator
Messages
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Location
Alberta, Canada
Calgary, Alberta: City Alderman are proposing a bylaw that would require drivers to install Winter Tires, not just All-Season Tires.

On some days this winter, the slippery roads have seen hundreds of accidents, ranging from fender-benders to serious multi-vehicle collisions with injuries and fatalities. On Calgary's high-speed thoroughfares, like Deerfoot Trail, the snow and ice are taking their toll on drivers, and causing commute times to double and triple.

In some cases, the lack of traction is exacerbated by the type of tires drivers have on their vehicles; all-season tires simply do not perform as well in Calgary's sub-zero temperatures, a fact that prompted the Province of Quebec to enact a province-wide bylaw requiring Winter Tires on all passenger vehicles. One Calgary Alderman has proposed adopting such a law; to be debated by city council early next year, the law proposed by Ald.Diane Colley-Urquhart has triggered fierce debate.

It's a topic as timely as snow shovels in Calgary right now, with one alderman proposing a German-style traffic law for those who refuse to don winter treads on their vehicles:

In Germany, snow tires aren't mandatory, but woe betide the driver who gets stuck or crashes while using all-season tires during winter conditions. The fine for delaying traffic with non-winter tires is about $70, plus demerit points on the driver's licence. The choice is with the motorist: Drive very carefully on all-season tires, or suffer the consequences.

Of course, the suggestion has divided local drivers, with some praising the idea, and others saying it stinks.

"I do not need the government telling me what to do... or in this case making a law to tell me what to do," wrote one reader.

Another driver said the proposed law was a great compromise.
"What a well -thought -out idea. There should be more intelligent laws/bylaws that hold the individual accountable instead of penalizing the masses, he wrote.

What do you think?
 
If people were to drive safer in winter conditions such as snow then there would be no need for winter tires.
 
Here in Colorado they have restrictions on those who go into the mountains when the conditions are bad, and if they have declared that snow chains are REQUIRED, and you get off the road then you are subjec to a hefty fine. I dont remember the amount but the semi drivers are subejct to up to $500 I believe it is. Common sense should prevail in snowy areas but seems to not be the course for many people. So I think in fairness they should have to pay if they screw up,, fine, points on license and if more than one violation a year for the same thing, double it to prove they are dumb!
 
I am a citizen, not a subject. I do not need some government bureaucrat to tell me what I can or cannot do.

If someone causes an accident due to poor driving, then they should be held accountable in civil court.
 
Big government no!:nono:
Small government yes...:thumbsup:

I hate nanny state laws:mad2:
 
the wonderful catch to all of it is people will have the mentality of "I've got snow tires so I don't have to slow down." I've so far only put one vehicle in the ditch and I knew I pushed it too hard. live and learn. skid control takes on a new meaning in 4WD.
 
I run mud tires because of being in fields and i wish they made some worth a darn for my car, but i wouldn't want the government telling me to do it!
 
I have mixed feelings here. I hate government but one of the things we need to realize is that driving is a privilege not a right. So it wouldn't be quite the same as government infringing on my "rights"
 
IMO the problem is the people who don't know how to drive in the snow. They shouldn't have to make traction tires mandatory. I regularly drive my truck (with 35" MTZs) on snow and ice without problem. It's all about knowing the limitations of your vehcile and the conditions.

Recently I drove 300 miles accross the state. about 200 of those miles were in whiteout to near whiteout conditions. Honestly if it wasn't for the capability of my truck nor my own driving experience I would have not made the drive.
 
It's the person behind the wheel, not the tires under the vehicle. I've lived in some heavy snow areas and nasty ice conditions in Idaho over the past 30+ years of my existence and I've never had more than all seasons on my cars. Have a set of cable chains in the trunk but I've only used them a couple times on hills that no tire, studded or not, would make it. Quite frankly I'll take my Impala with all-seasons over my truck with snow tires if I have to drive down a glaze ice covered highway. Granted if you start adding several inches of snow on top then the truck wins hands down.

You see it every year though. First snow/ice roads and people are in the ditch all over the place. By the time February hits they finally remember how to drive again and slide-off accidents drop significantly. Nothing with their vehicle has changed.
 
Germany was the same way. You could not use all season tires to substitute the winter tires either. If you were caught in the winter with the wrong tires a fine was given. If you were in a wreck in the winter with the wrong tires, the accident was your fault. Too me it was just a way for the gov to make money. Along with the tire manufacturers.

I disagree with it myself. I have never owned winter tires! :thumbsup:
 
Its not necessarily the tires that make up the driving. Even if people had winter tires, they'd still get in wrecks, and it might be safe to say that there'd probably be more wrecks because of overconfidence.
 
Yeah, that's about what I think, too. That being said, I always put winter tires on my wife's car because they really DO make a big difference on ice and the road she commutes on is crappy. As for the 'driver' comments, I agree also - but the safety issue comes up for me; those idiots, the ones who think 4wd helps you stop faster, are endangering my family by being out on icy roads with tires that, in cold weather, are like skis.

Personally, I think the private sector should handle it - insurance companies should give you a rate break for putting on winter tires, or charge extra for those who don't.

Here's the follow-up article from the Calgary paper:

Calgary, Alberta: Gripping question for Calgarians
Frankly, it looks like a blast -- skidding around corners, losing control on ice, finally burying the hood of your car in a soft explosion of deep snow.

But this isn't Deerfoot Trail, and the vehicle in question won't tie up three lanes of traffic for the next two hours, as emergency crews try to dig the poor fool out of the ditch.

"It's just that simple, the difference between the tires -- I would think Canadians would understand more than anyone," said Matt Edmonds, vice- president of Tire Rack, North America's largest independent tire-tester.

Known as the "tire guru," and quoted in countless motoring magazines, Edmonds has become something of an go-to expert on the subject of snow tires.

There are two sides to the issue, and some very heated debate forecast for the New Year.
But what few drivers seem to grasp is the advantage winter tires might offer.
At nearly $1,000 a set, you'd hope the soft rubber, deep tread tires would have a vast advantage over ordinary all-seasons, but the price means few Calgarians have actually tried them.

According to Edmonds the tire guru, they do make a difference.
"If you think about tires the way you think about shoes, it makes more sense," said Edmonds.
"We all have a pair of shoes you can wear all the time, no matter what the weather, but if you go out in the snow and ice, you have to walk carefully, in case you slip.
"That's why we all have a pair of boots in the closet, for control and safety when it gets really bad. And that's what snow tires are for your car."
Edmonds can quote statistics about rubber compounds and tread patterns until your head aches with tire-trivia, but there's nothing like a physical demonstration.

Thus, the Tire Rack website (www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp) is packed with amusing video proof of what Edmonds preaches. Filmed on hockey rinks, outdoor winter test tracks in Indiana, and above the Arctic Circle in Sweden, the videos show the difference between summer, all-season and winter tires in a variety of tests.

Winter tires appear to reduce the time it takes to accelerate from a standstill on ice and snow, while dramatically reducing stopping distance compared to all-seasons.
In one test, two identical cars attempted to stop from 50 km/h on a track packed with snow and ice. Winter tires added up to a ten-metre difference in stopping distance -- about the length of two cars.

Cornering is the true comedy, with all-season sending cars into pylons and snowdrifts, while the winter-tire equipped car cruises past with ease at the same speed. Edmonds said the difference is down to rubber, and how soft it is in different temperatures. "Winter tires stay soft and pliable, no matter how cold."

It doesn't take snow and ice to make a tire lose grip -- even on dry pavement, frigid temperatures cause non-winter tires to cool and harden.
"They're not just for deep snow and ice, and there are performance winter tires designed for places like Calgary -- they work especially well when the pavement is dry, but the intersection is icy."

Winter tires appear to grip the ice, but will Calgarians bite? That's a question for the New Year.
 
I gotta wonder where the M+S ones will end up? I saw what the market offers for a truck snow tires.... my ribs still hurt from laughing:D
 
Here are the ones I put on my daughter's 2wd truck. They hang on like crazy - substantial difference from the ones she had on. Not all that pricey, either.

Around Calgary, the streets (and especially intersections) ALL get icy, due to the chinooks (big temp swings). I want her being able to move, not just sit there and spin... I got me a grandkid in that vehicle. :D

Wife's Accord EXL got Blizzaks.. early Christmas present.

Mine are just All-seasons, but I drive smarter than the average Bear...
 
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