Is it time to make winter tires mandatory?

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Yeah, and let's not forget the emergency room doctors! And the people who work for the blood bank!

Anyway, a legislated insurance rebate that ends up covering a part of the cost would probably make a law like this easier to swallow for people.

My question is, what would the exact rule be? You can't drive on public roads on non-snow tires between December and March? What if there's no snow on the road and there's a Chinook?

Any legislated rebate in insurance will be offset by an increase in insurance for everyone so there really is no point.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

In one way, I like having people out there on all-seasons. I think of them like the canary in the coal mine. They'll hit the ditches before I will when things get icy...and when that starts happening I know the roads are really bad!

Yeah, except they're also the clowns that go 3kph around corners, and can't take off at lights, which just makes your commute that much longer. They're the winter equivalent of texter/drivers.

[Diemenz]

Originally Posted by Cube Inmate

In one way, I like having people out there on all-seasons. I think of them like the canary in the coal mine. They'll hit the ditches before I will when things get icy...and when that starts happening I know the roads are really bad!

I also judge the road conditions by seeing other drivers. I drive an AWD Car and I have studded winters and I replace them every second year because I like to overreact. My thoughts are the same as you if someone in front of me isn't sliding around I'm more than good in the current conditions.

I drive the QEII regularly and in the last 2 years I have been passed 4 times by cars that either went into the ditch during passing, slightly after passing or within 5 minutes of passing me. All of those vehicles were small sedans, not lifted trucks like all would assume but Toyota corolla's and Honda civic's. I for one think winter tires should be mandatory.

[Jimmy Stang]

If winters were made mandatory, I'd have no complaints personally. But as already mentioned, it would be politically a tough sell in Alberta especially.

Insurance rebates are absolutely the way to go. And I would also like to see tires become more of a factor when investigating collisions. If you rear-end someone regardless of the weather, you'll be found at fault and there will be insurance implications. Do it on inadequate tires for the conditions? You should get an additional fine of a fairly substantial amount. Reward those that equip their vehicles for the conditions, penalize those that don't. Reduce the fine by a chunk if you can prove the purchase of proper tires within 30 days or something. The same would apply if you roll your car on the highway, slide into a light post, etc.

Alberta is very much a "don't tread on me" type of culture (pun absolutely intended), but a user fee of sorts is fairest way to do it. Sure, you're free to drive around on crappy tires, but your choice has a cost.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Yeah, except they're also the clowns that go 3kph around corners, and can't take off at lights, which just makes your commute that much longer. They're the winter equivalent of texter/drivers.

Biggest downside to winter tires. The strugglers in front of you with crappy tires doing an ice burn out making you miss the light.

[CampbellsTransgressions]

I never realized that winter tires prevented your tires from spinning at icy intersections...

[Slanter]

I'm not sure if I'm an idiot who's just missing the point, but I don't see a big additional cost in owning winter tires.

Let's say I drive enough kms to need new tires every 4 years. If I drive on one set of tires, I need one set of new tires every 4 years. If I drive on two sets of tires, I need two sets of tires every 8 years. I still buy the same number of tires over 8 years.

Sure that's a simplification (I don't drive on my winters 50% of the year), but you get the point. If the frequency with which I buy tires only depends on the kms I put on them, I spend just as much money having two sets of tires as I do with one.

Oh, and I bought a set of steel rims for my winter tires so I can switch 'em myself in my driveway... So no additional cost there.

[calgaryblood]

For the people switching your own tires, how do you balance them? I've always paid $40 to switch them over thinking I couldn't balance them myself. I'm not really a car guy and would rather pay to have them changed but just out of curiosity can you balance them at home?

[Slanter]

If you have a second set of rims, when the tires are installed on the rims, the guys at the shop balance them and then you're good to go. The wheels don't get balanced on your car, they get balanced on some sort of machine. They don't need to be balanced every time you switch.

[Fuzz]

Once a wheel is balanced, short of the wheel weight falling off, it should remain balanced. So if you have them on their own rims(which you should, for several good reasons) you don't need to re-balance.

[Ryan Coke]

Just wanted to put in a recommendation for PMC tire. Very good prices, and shipping is super cheap. Like less than $20 for 4 rims and tires. I bought 2 sets from them in the last 4 months, and tire rack couldn't touch them on price.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

Just wanted to put in a recommendation for PMC tire.

For my car I just checked against Canadian Tire PMC is $1 less per tire. What's your tire size?

[Ryan Coke]

My last set was 255/35/19. The rubber (Pilot Alpin) was cheaper than at Costco and I was getting rims as well.

But that is great if you found a comparable deal at CT.

[WhiteTiger]

To the cost of changing the tires over...if you buy your tires at Kal Tire, they'll change them over for you (already rims or not) free of charge for the lifetime of the time. Something to consider/factor into cost.

[btimbit]

I don't even mind changing tires. I've got it down to about 15 minutes for a car and 25 for a truck

[Fuzz]

My biggest issue is I don't have a garage so I have to haul the jack and compressor up from the basement and bring all the tires across from the shed on other side of the yard. Even then, I can do a car and truck in an hour. Which is still way less time than it would take to haul all the tires to a shop, book appointments and shuttle them around. Jack, impact gun and torque wrench were a great investment.

[calgarygeologist]

I get to rip around the city in my mom's rear wheel drive sedan for the next two weeks while she is on vacation. I hope the roads stay slick. I did a couple of sweet donuts in front of my house after dropping her off at the airport.

[Raekwon]

How effective would winter tires only on the front be on a FWD vehicle? Is that an option?

[Fuzz]

Bad idea. You want the grip more for stopping. So if you stop with winters on the front, the front end has grip, the rear doesn't, and the rear end can swing around and cause you to spin.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

How effective would winter tires only on the front be on a FWD vehicle? Is that an option?

Effective for stunting maybe? You'd begin to spin on all sorts of regular situations.