Is it time to make winter tires mandatory?

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Nope

http://www.wheels.ca/news/its-offici...ut-collisions/

Notwithstanding that the source has an obvious agenda, the data's pretty hard to argue with...

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Swarly

right, I agree with that and if I were highway driving I would no doubt get winters. But as strictly a city driver that has the ability to simply not drive on the worst days, mandatory winters makes no sense. Maybe the law should be mandatory winters on the highway during certain days?(weeks?) after a blizzard.

It would have to be based on temperatures if they were to do it that way. I'd be okay with a law like that, rather than being based on certain months like it is in Quebec just say they're mandatory below freezing

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Swarly

right, I agree with that and if I were highway driving I would no doubt get winters. But as strictly a city driver that has the ability to simply not drive on the worst days, mandatory winters makes no sense. Maybe the law should be mandatory winters on the highway during certain days?(weeks?) after a blizzard.

How would this work?

It's not all about you. You live in Alberta. Alberta weather demands winter tires. It only takes half a second of you being distracted, someone else braking suddenly, and then you're sailing into something metal. Or worse.

Look, if you don't wanna pay the money for them, maybe just drive your wife's car in the winter. Only have the one vehicle registered/insured, and those savings alone probably pay for a winter set.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by btimbit

It would have to be based on temperatures if they were to do it that way. I'd be okay with a law like that, rather than being based on certain months like it is in Quebec just say they're mandatory below freezing

Most likely if it were ever mandatory it would be done similar as BC

"As of October 1, BC law requires that all vehicles travelling on specific highways have winter tires. "

[mrkajz44]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Honest question though, are you going to stay 30 mins late to make up for your missed time?

Actually, I probably will today for two reasons. First, this is my busiest time of year, so that time has to be made up sometime as there are some hard deadlines coming up. Second, I imagine the drive home will be equally poor, so leaving later will probably keep my stress levels down a bit.

However, if it wasn't so busy, I'd likely just leave at a normal time. I suspect the majority of people would as well.

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

How would this work?

It's not all about you. You live in Alberta. Alberta weather demands winter tires. It only takes half a second of you being distracted, someone else braking suddenly, and then you're sailing into something metal. Or worse.

Look, if you don't wanna pay the money for them, maybe just drive your wife's car in the winter. Only have the one vehicle registered/insured, and those savings alone probably pay for a winter set.

I think there are much better steps to take first. I now have to pay more because a bunch of morons can't figure out winter driving and take their bald summer tires on the highway? Winter driving should be a mandatory part of getting a license in the first place. Licenses are a joke to get, drive around a community for 15mins in the summer, yep you sure are set for taking a car with bald tires to Edmonton on a day like today. These should be the first steps taken to make the roads safer.

[OMG!WTF!]

I've got all season tires that are allowed on the highways in BC and they're great on snow and ice and cold temps. I'm sure there are some better purely winter tires but I'm good with awd, careful winter driving and these tires I don't have to swap. Maybe there should be a penalty or fine or further insurance consequences if you get into an accident with inferior tires.

I don't get how swapping tires makes your other tires last twice as long. I mean I get it, but it's not like I would suddenly get 200k out of my summer tires simply because I'm not using them for half the year. I'd still get 100k out of them, it would just take longer to get there. If it actually saves rubber I'd like to know how.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by OMG!WTF!

I don't get how swapping tires makes your other tires last twice as long. I mean I get it, but it's not like I would suddenly get 200k out of my summer tires simply because I'm not using them for half the year. I'd still get 100k out of them, it would just take longer to get there. If it actually saves rubber I'd like to know how.

No, you nailed it. That argument is based on you using one set half the time, making them last twice as long. Not literally making you get more kilometers out of them

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Nope

http://www.wheels.ca/news/its-offici...ut-collisions/

I'm not sure what that number is because even 12K injury accidents is a small number for a country of 80+ million people that likes to drive.

The detailed accident figures from the German Federal Highway Research Institute do not show such a significant drop in injury accidents between 2005 and 2010. There is a measurable decline but a lot of that likely comes from the overall vehicle fleet getting safer with things like superior crash protection and active measures like ABS and stability control. It isn't all from winter tires.

http://www.bast.de/EN/Publications/M...ublicationFile

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Anyone else find it weird that BC doesn't just setup every weekend in Radium/Fernie/Golden/Invermere and ticket Alberta drivers one after another for not having winter tires? Seems like the ultimate cash grab without pissing off locals.

From what I have heard they can only ticket you in the event you cause an accident or are in an accident.

Anyone else hear this or have I heard wrong?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Swarly

I think there are much better steps to take first. I now have to pay more because a bunch of morons can't figure out winter driving and take their bald summer tires on the highway? Winter driving should be a mandatory part of getting a license in the first place. Licenses are a joke to get, drive around a community for 15mins in the summer, yep you sure are set for taking a car with bald tires to Edmonton on a day like today. These should be the first steps taken to make the roads safer.

Read through my previously linked study that driving training is not effective at reducing accidents.

Also are us good drivers actually better then the cars we see in the ditch on the number 2 or lucky. And how would you prove the difference.

[opendoor]

For people bringing up BC's law, it's worth noting that the definition of "winter tires" is pretty broad and any all season with the "M+S" rating qualifies.

[Swift]

There is an insurance discount for winter tires, but it's in Ontario. The government there passed a law which came into effect as of Jan 2016. Insurance companies are now required to give the discount in that province, but I'm not sure how they enforce it.

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by opendoor

For people bringing up BC's law, it's worth noting that the definition of "winter tires" is pretty broad and any all season with the "M+S" rating qualifies.

I don't disagree, but at least it is a start.

Wayyyyy too many people honestly think All-Season are just as good (or equivalent) to winter tires. They just don't get it.

They need to be educated on that, as well as the fact your summers/all-seasons would last twice as long if you had separate winters, and the net cost is pretty dang small given the advantages.

I can dream of a world where everyone has winter tires, but alas, poor people gonna poor.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I think part of the problem is that vehicle manufacturers are advertising AWD as a safety feature and alternative to winter tires. AWD certainly makes a difference, particularly if you are trying to go up an icy hill, but it sure as hell isn't going to help much if you need to slam on your breaks.

Not true. We make it emphatically clear that stopping is the big advantage with winter tires and AWD does nothing to solve that. Every customer is offered a winter set front or all wheel drive and to be perfectly honest, why wouldn't we? It's a profit center.

[GGG]

Pylon how do the all weather (M+S) tires compare to true winters?

[Amethyst]

My current car is the first time I've had winter tires. Before I got them, people raved about them and said it would be just like driving on bare pavement. While I'm in favour of winter tires, I don't notice the difference to be that great. Now, I have a different car than before and my old car had all weathers, not all seasons, but if there are winter tires that make driving today feel like driving on bare pavement, I need to know what brand so I can buy them next time!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

^ Studded tires.

[photon]

Originally Posted by GGG

Pylon how do the all weather (M+S) tires compare to true winters?

Not pylon, but I ran Nokian WRG3 (or 2 or whatever was newest at the time) for many years on my VW and my Murano, I'd say both were very good. Pure winters can be better at some things but I think they're a reasonable compromise if one really doesn't want to change and isn't looking for bleeding edge summer performance.

They're not as good on glare ice as pure winters, but are better than all season.

Consumer Reports put them in their top 9 winter tires, and was the only one rated good or better in all categories.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blog...nter-tire-test
(Consumer Reports actual tests are behind a paywall)

There's more of these kinds of tires coming out, but I don't know how the others compare to the Nokians.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by GGG

Pylon how do the all weather (M+S) tires compare to true winters?

Hit and miss. It depends what you are buying.

I ran Cooper AT/W's on a Jeep without ABS for a season, and I could swear they performed better than a dedicated winter tire. Cooper adverises them as primarily a winter tire, that will still do the job in the summer if required. Kinda like 80/20, 80 being winter. For me they were Ideal, because I used the Jeep as my winter car full time, and used it maybe 2 Sundays a month in the summer to go into the woods.

But then I have heard of a lot of people finding that M+S just don't do the trick. Now you have mediocre winter performance, and noisy crappy summer performance as well.