Winter Means...? Winter Tires

This year, Barrie’s first real snowfall was on November 30th. Just a few minutes waking up and seeing the snow, I heard the crunching of metal outside of my home. After seeing that a rear-collision was the culprit, I couldn’t help but think someone had learned an age-old lesson the hard way – winter tires are important. Hopefully, this post can help a few people learn the same lesson a little less painfully.

It won’t be surprising that a personal injury lawyer recommends that, yes, you probably should put those winter tires on your car (and to the conspiracy theorists, no, I’m not under the influence of Big Tire!). This post will examine why winter tires are so much more effective during the winter and attempt to debunk myths that prevent people from buying winter tires.

I remember being surprised during my first winter in Barrie that so many vehicles were sliding around the roads during the winter. One of the reasons for the uncontrolled vehicles may be that Ontario does not mandate winter tires by law, which stands in contrast to Quebec.

On the positive side, Ontario drivers are significantly more likely to install winter tires than they were previously. On the other hand, Ontario drivers are less likely to utilize winter tires than not only Quebeckers, but also those in Atlantic Canada, and even British Columbia.[1]

The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada has several theories as to why a third of Ontario’s population still resists winter tires. Their 2023 Canadian Consumer Winter Tire Study found that the most common reason drivers did not install winter tires was because they believed all-season tires were good enough. This post will examine how that belief and several others surrounding Winter tires, are mostly based on myths.

Are Winter Tires More Effective?

Yes. Study after study has proven that winter tires are significantly safer in winter than regular tires and all-season tires. The differences found in average stopping distance is typically 20-50% less for winter tires. With that in mind, it’s easy to understand how winter tires prevent collisions.

The Myths

               Myth #1

       My tires have good tread, so I don’t need winter tires

To understand why this statement is a myth, it’s important to know why winter tires work so well.

Many people think the only reason winter tires are more effective is because they possess deeper tread, enabling them to grip the road better. While this is true, the primary benefit of winter tires is that they have greater flexibility in low temperatures.

The rubber in tires is designed to be flexible enough to reach in and around the tiny bumps and crevices in pavement. That flexibility causes enhanced traction, which leads to greater responsiveness to braking and steering.  However, once temperatures drop below 7 degrees Celsius, summer tires become less flexible. As temperatures continue to decrease, summer tires become progressively more rigid and thus less able to grip the pavement and stop quickly. Imagine a black rubber hockey puck sliding across the ice, and it becomes easy to understand how the diminished flexibility of rubber can increase stopping distances.

On the other hand, winter tires are designed to maintain their flexibility in the cold of winter. This pliability results in greater traction and decreased stopping distances in cold weather. Typically winter tires can maintain flexibility until temperatures become extreme and plunge below -40 degrees.

The flip side is that winter tires actually become too flexible in hot temperatures, which also causes increased temperatures.

Myth #2

I have all-season tires

All-season tires are a compromise between winter and summer tires. Unlike winter tires, all-season tires aren’t too flexible in the summer, and they don’t freeze up at seven degrees. However, once temperatures drop below negative ten degrees, all-season tires lose their pliability. Unfortunately, that’s not good enough for an Ontario winter!

Myth #3

       I have Four Wheel Drive, so I don’t need Winter Tires 

Owning a Four Wheel Drive vehicle does help with driving in snowy conditions. Switching your vehicle into Four Wheel Drive helps your vehicle accelerate while travelling in snowy conditions. Unfortunately, it does not help your vehicle stop more quickly in the cold. The malleability of your tires does not change with Four Wheel Drive, meaning your chance of sliding into a stopped vehicle is not any lower.

               Closing Point

The real reason that people cling to these various myths to avoid installing winter tires is probably because they are expensive. It may sound corny, from a personal injury lawyer’s perspective, the cost of winter tires pales in comparison to the cost of what happens when not using them goes wrong.

[1] Canadian drivers believe climate change is making winter tires more important than ever: survey - OHS Canada Magazine