Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Is it time to make winter tires mandatory?

pylon · 01-09-2017, 01:18 PM

This is a touchy subject with me.

In the winter, when wrecked cars get dragged in here in the winter, probably 80% of them have summer/all-seasons on them.

As someone who works in this business, and gets to drive identical cars, back to back, with all seasons, and dedicated snow tires, I can tell you how dramatic of a difference they make. Even good drivers have lapses. And snow tires can be the difference between 5 extra feet of stopping distance to save a major wreck.

The other factor a lot of people forget. If someone ahead of you slams on their brakes on ice, and they have top end snow/ice tires, and you do not. There is no amount of drivers skill on the face of the earth that will close the gap. Unless you are a Jedi and can harness Force magic. You are done, and you are at fault. I don't care if you are Michael Schumacher or Mario Andretti. You are rear ending the car ahead of you.

Don't be cheap. Buy snow tires. The compound and pattern technology nowadays it amazing, and there are sets that almost perform like you are on dry pavement on ice.

And for those saying "Some people cannot afford them." There are tons of cheap used sets on Kijiji. And for that person that can't afford 3-400 now, how are they going to manage an insurance bill that is 2000 a year more? And also it actually doesn't cost more. Since you are effectively doubling the tire replacement cycle for both sets.

If anyone out there is skeptical about the difference they make. I invite you down to our dealership to do a back to back comparison on an identical car. I don't care if you buy a car from us, or the tires. I look at it as a public service to get people on snow tires for the benefit of the people you are endangering by not having the best possible safety feature you can equip yourself with in the winter.

01-09-2017, 01:18 PM	#32
pylon Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Jul 2007 Exp:	This is a touchy subject with me. In the winter, when wrecked cars get dragged in here in the winter, probably 80% of them have summer/all-seasons on them. As someone who works in this business, and gets to drive identical cars, back to back, with all seasons, and dedicated snow tires, I can tell you how dramatic of a difference they make. Even good drivers have lapses. And snow tires can be the difference between 5 extra feet of stopping distance to save a major wreck. The other factor a lot of people forget. If someone ahead of you slams on their brakes on ice, and they have top end snow/ice tires, and you do not. There is no amount of drivers skill on the face of the earth that will close the gap. Unless you are a Jedi and can harness Force magic. You are done, and you are at fault. I don't care if you are Michael Schumacher or Mario Andretti. You are rear ending the car ahead of you. Don't be cheap. Buy snow tires. The compound and pattern technology nowadays it amazing, and there are sets that almost perform like you are on dry pavement on ice. And for those saying "Some people cannot afford them." There are tons of cheap used sets on Kijiji. And for that person that can't afford 3-400 now, how are they going to manage an insurance bill that is 2000 a year more? And also it actually doesn't cost more. Since you are effectively doubling the tire replacement cycle for both sets. If anyone out there is skeptical about the difference they make. I invite you down to our dealership to do a back to back comparison on an identical car. I don't care if you buy a car from us, or the tires. I look at it as a public service to get people on snow tires for the benefit of the people you are endangering by not having the best possible safety feature you can equip yourself with in the winter. Last edited by pylon; 01-09-2017 at 01:22 PM.