OP
OP
Andrew Shadow
Site Supporter
Not to justify this law but just clarify some of the reasoning that was behind its adoption. This winter tire requirement isn't based solely on a question of getting traction in the snow. It is also a matter of all of the other poor winter road conditions far beyond snow. We have a lot of winter here and a lot of varying crappy winter road conditions of all kinds to go with it. Summer tires just can not handle those conditions effectively. Trusting that people are smart enough and responsible enough to only take their vehicles out when the roads are in pristine condition because they only have summer tires on is whistling Dixie in to the wind. People need to get around and they will drive their cars no matter what the road conditions are, just like the fool that I wrote about earlier who was driving around in our last snow storm on bald summer tires. Whether that justifies having such a law is always up for debate.
One of the most significant determinant factors seems to be cold temperatures regardless of whether there is snow or not. It seems to have been universally accepted around here that the performance of summer tires begins to degrade significantly when average temperatures are below 7°C / 44°F. Whether the tire manufacturers have done an excellent job of convincing people of this in order to sell more tires or if there is actual scientific truth to this I haven't got a clue. Everyone, including independent experts and automobile rights lobby groups like CAA, all seem to have accepted this threshold. If true, getting above this temperature threshold in this area during the time that this requirement is in effect is rare. I do know from personal experience that summer tire compounds do get really hard and inflexible in cold weather. They just do not grip worth a damn and they simply are not as effective at stopping or steering a vehicle as winter rated tires are in cold temperatures, even on dry pavement. If that temperature threshold is really as high as 7°C / 44°F I don't know but during an unexpected and unplanned emergency maneuver is not the time when I want to find out where that temperature threshold really is.
The intent of the law is to lessen the risks of winter driving that can be mitigated by the use of winter rated tires. The reality was that because of our harsh winters over 80% (If I remember correctly) of Quebecers were already using winter tires before this law was adopted anyway, so it hasn't really changed much of anything for most people. The remaining 20% or so are the idiots like the guy driving around in our last winter storm on bald summer tires. These people are to stupid and/or to irresponsible to be left to their own judgement and are the ones whose actions result in a law like this being adopted, rightly or wrongly, in the first place- To protect every one else from them.
One of the most significant determinant factors seems to be cold temperatures regardless of whether there is snow or not. It seems to have been universally accepted around here that the performance of summer tires begins to degrade significantly when average temperatures are below 7°C / 44°F. Whether the tire manufacturers have done an excellent job of convincing people of this in order to sell more tires or if there is actual scientific truth to this I haven't got a clue. Everyone, including independent experts and automobile rights lobby groups like CAA, all seem to have accepted this threshold. If true, getting above this temperature threshold in this area during the time that this requirement is in effect is rare. I do know from personal experience that summer tire compounds do get really hard and inflexible in cold weather. They just do not grip worth a damn and they simply are not as effective at stopping or steering a vehicle as winter rated tires are in cold temperatures, even on dry pavement. If that temperature threshold is really as high as 7°C / 44°F I don't know but during an unexpected and unplanned emergency maneuver is not the time when I want to find out where that temperature threshold really is.
The intent of the law is to lessen the risks of winter driving that can be mitigated by the use of winter rated tires. The reality was that because of our harsh winters over 80% (If I remember correctly) of Quebecers were already using winter tires before this law was adopted anyway, so it hasn't really changed much of anything for most people. The remaining 20% or so are the idiots like the guy driving around in our last winter storm on bald summer tires. These people are to stupid and/or to irresponsible to be left to their own judgement and are the ones whose actions result in a law like this being adopted, rightly or wrongly, in the first place- To protect every one else from them.
