Ontario should make winter tires mandatory.

[Torren]

How do you figure they have to be told? You just decided this, maybe because you have common sense and others don't? And how did you come to the conclusion that common sense died anyways?

If people are to stupid/cheap to get them on their own, then they have to be told. As far as common sense and it's death is concerned, do you interact with society at all?

Nobody used snow tires "a long time ago" when according to you common sense was prevalent. You acknowledge we don't get much snow on our roads but whine about cold roads and tire compounds. Is that the common sense part? Because all season tires are actually designed for sub-zero temperatures, don'tcha know? Sure, winter tires are better suited to cold temperatures, but they are also much worse for warm temperatures. There are tons of people who run winter tires all year, I know of a handful from work myself. Are you gonna propose then that we force everyone off their winter tires at a particular date? In that case, they should be forced to run performance tires since all-seasons are a compromise in the summer too, right?

As noted by others, all season tires are not designed to perform in sub zero temps. Winter tires are. That's one of the key differences other then tread design. There would be no reason to prevent someone from running winter tires in the summer. Whats your point?

I used to run high performance tires in the summer, and then I'd switch to all season in the winter. Didn't stop me from running circles around other drivers on snow + ice even in my RWD car. Now I run all seasons... wait for it... all seasons! I use my car for errands when I need to, I don't rely on it every day. Is it common sense for me to put winter tires on for the 1-2000 km I do in the winter even though I've avoided all wet/snowy conditions the past two winters?

Yes it does. Just because you try to avoid driving in the worst of the weather doesn't mean you may not encounter some weather while you are already out. And last time I checked it was pretty much cold all winter long no matter weather it was snowing or not.

What you call common sense is just arrogance. You think you know it all, it's so obvious to you, and poor old you, you have this tough burden of thinking that everyone needs it spelled out for them. I certainly don't, thank you.

It's arrogant to think that just because what you do somewhat works that there is not a better way.

As for everyone else, there is no clear benefit to forcing people to run winter tires as I explained above. But there certainly are clear drawbacks in increased costs of living and bureaucracy. Yet your common sense is to force it on people anyways. What irony.

Swing and a miss slugger. As mentioned all over this thread the benefits of winter tires are clear. There is almost zero increase in cost of living. The only extra cost steel rims or swapping the rubber over on your stock rims that most tires places will do for free if you buy the tires there. As far as bureaucracy is concerned, I don't hear you complaining about that seat belt "The man" says you have to wear. Back in the day cars did not even come with seat belts. People got around just fine with out them.

Unrelated,

Mandated winter tire use in Ontario should by all means reduce the number of accidents and insurance claims. This should (but thanks to greedy companys probably won't) mean lower insurance rates for all of us.

If you have to choose between buying winter tires or putting clothes on your child's back then maybe ownership of a vehicle is not for you.

 

[eastcoast_gsx]

Who here thinks that a set of 4-5 year old winters will perform better then a new set of all seasons? (remember, the snow flake on the side is not magic)

 

[caboose56]

Mandating snow tires is akin to putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. What we need is BETTER DRIVERS!

Its pouring rain on the 401 right now and one car in ten is running DRLs only or full stealth mode.

 

[killerkeith]

If you have to choose between buying winter tires or putting clothes on your child's back then maybe ownership of a vehicle is not for you.

This statement right here really pisses me off. Good luck trying to convince me to buy something I've never used in almost 20 years behind the wheel. If you are going to make snow tires standard equipment then force car manufacturers to include them with the purchase of a new vehicle, just like they did with daytime running lights.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

Who here thinks that a set of 4-5 year old winters will perform better then a new set of all seasons? (remember, the snow flake on the side is not magic)

Straw man argument. Anyone who runs winters till they're past their useable life will do so with their all season tires as well.

 

[SunnY S]

Straw man argument. Anyone who runs winters till they're past their useable life will do so with their all season tires as well.

Not only that, most winter tires that lose their ice biting edge after 3 or 4 years are said to be still as good as a set of all season tires.

 

[RetroGrouch]

Not only that, most winter tires that lose their ice biting edge after 3 or 4 years are said to be still as good as a set of all season tires.

Yup, I once bought a set of rims with snow tires that were almost worn out. They still out gripped my good-condition all seasons in snow, never got stuck with them.

 

[Torren]

This statement right here really pisses me off. Good luck trying to convince me to buy something I've never used in almost 20 years behind the wheel. If you are going to make snow tires standard equipment then force car manufacturers to include them with the purchase of a new vehicle, just like they did with daytime running lights.

You won't hear an argument from me over that. It would be a very small cost to work into the price of a new vehicle, especially considering the buying power of auto makers.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgUosngyAu0

 

[eastcoast_gsx]

Straw man argument. Anyone who runs winters till they're past their useable life will do so with their all season tires as well.

Not true, everyone trying to save a few bucks once your magic legislation passes will be dumping and buying crappy winters all over the place, I would guess the dude who puts on a new set of all seasons every second fall is a better bet.

Not only that, most winter tires that lose their ice biting edge after 3 or 4 years are said to be still as good as a set of all season tires.

Not the case... been there done that. Especially if the winters were stored improperly... they can/will be as hard as ice pucks...

Yup, I once bought a set of rims with snow tires that were almost worn out. They still out gripped my good-condition all seasons in snow, never got stuck with them.

Doubtfull...

Please... I am from NL, I have a ton of experience in bad conditions driving (we used studded tires most times), major snow, hills and bends off camber into guard rails.

The problem around here is NOT winter tires, it is idiots that do not know how to drive, especially in winter. And mandating "winter tires" is a load of crap, that won't solve that problem.

 

[mxs]

The problem around here is NOT winter tires, it is idiots that do not know how to drive, especially in winter. And mandating "winter tires" is a load of crap, that won't solve that problem.

Thank you sir for stating the obvious ... mandating winter tires is like mandating ABS, ESP, TC and god knows what else, just a different form.

 

[DJM]

Let's see. Wheels are $200, winter tires are $800, TPM's are $400. Unless my insurance company is going to give me a substantial discount I'll just drive extra-cautious on those inclement days.

 

[ItIsWhatItIs]

Agreed. So many dumb cheapasses whine about how it only snows a few days and they don't need snow tires.

hmm, waste money on snow tires for the few and far between days or call your employer and tell them you can't make it because the roads or too bad. I would rather pocket the money and call my employer and tell them I am not coming in. That is what I will be doing when the next run of bad weather hits.

 

[boarder360]

Let's see. Wheels are $200, winter tires are $800, TPM's are $400. Unless my insurance company is going to give me a substantial discount I'll just drive extra-cautious on those inclement days.

You can alway get creative with tire sizes to drop the price. Subaru wanted $1700 for winter tires for my STI. Went out to a tire shop, dropped the rim size by and inch and put narrower tires ons. Even with having to by aftermarket rims because steel ones wont fit over my brake calipers i got the price down to $1200. Didn't bother with putting TPM's but they weren't even close to $400 if i had.

 

[imnothng]

Let's see. Wheels are $200, winter tires are $800, TPM's are $400. Unless my insurance company is going to give me a substantial discount I'll just drive extra-cautious on those inclement days.

Not sure about your car, but my MINI and Kia Sedona did not NEED the TPM's to operate.

 

[daught]

Legalize studding . I was shocked how poorly one year old BLizzaks handled on frozen roads last Friday in Oakville. Not much ice grip.

Another thing, I found my Goodyear tripletrend all season tires grip much better than Yokohama IG20s on dry roads in winter. Not sure how they would compare to other winter tires on the same car.

 

[RockerGuy]

Its pouring rain on the 401 right now and one car in ten is running DRLs only or full stealth mode.

Hahaha, i dont mean to laugh at that but i've seen black cars with no lights on at night. I wish my hands were long enough i wanted to smack him in the head


Sent from my phone using my paws

 

[SunnY S]

This statement right here really pisses me off. Good luck trying to convince me to buy something I've never used in almost 20 years behind the wheel. .

Aw crap.... you mean all the coin I spent on gear and helmets was a big waste of money because I've "never used" the extra safety these things provide cos I havent crashed in all my years?

Thats it, in 2013, I go squid!

 

[unL33T]

In my opinion if you can't afford snows you can't afford a vehicle. I've had them since my first vehicle at 18. And no, mommy and daddy weren't paying for anything.

 

[N3WMAN]

Snow tires should not be mandatory. Proper driver training should.

Making snows mandatory will not fix the problem. You'll end up with just as many people in the ditch because they now have a false sense of security that they are safe to drive like they normall would because they've got winter tires on. What they really need is to learn is to adjust their driving to winter conditions.

My parents and Grandparents all survived driving in much worse weather on much worse tires. Ofcourse that was when you actually needed to know english to get a drivers license.

Also, snows work better in snow and ice, but work terrible in rain. There is always two sides to the coin.

P.S.
The article you linked makes no mention of all seasons vs winter tires. You're making the assumption she was on all seasons without any actual proof. For all you know she could have been on studded rally tires.

 

[LePhillou]

One thing also to think about in this discussion

Some tires are better on ice
Some other are better in deeper snow

So a "winter tire" might be better than any no-season/summer tire BUT you gotta shop and research which type of tire you're purchasing as well.
And as it was mentionned before, the cost of your snows is justified by the longer lifespan of your other set of tires.
80$ to swap might be expensive but steelies (or another set of wheels) pay themselves off, and its like replacing a flat tire