Snow tires, mandatory?
Posted Nov 21, 2011 04:55:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
We’ve all seen the commercials, the ones that show two cars coming to a stop and the one with snow tires stops long before the one without. According to Gord Bates of Tire Co. the commercials are true.
So why then, are they not mandatory in Ontario? Bates tells 570’s Gary Doyle Show, cost is a factor.
“Generally speaking you can start in the range of $550 to $600 dollars for the set, if you want to do tires and rims you’re looking at something in the range of $800 to $900 dollars to start with.”
Snow tires are mandatory in Quebec and in some parts of British Columbia, however Bates says that because most parts of Ontario are warmer, it’s just not practical to make snow tires mandatory.
“Realistically I think you would get quite an argument from a number of quarters, particularly in the Southern parts of the provinces, example Windsor, where they have minimal amounts of snow.”
Bates adds that snow tires give you better traction because they are designed to remain flexible in extreme temperatures, where as all season tires stiffen up and lose traction when temperatures dip below 7 degrees Celsius.
