Snow tires are the best, but should they be mandatory?
Every Edmonton driver should have snow tires.
I speak of winter tires with the zeal of a convert. The actual road to Damascus isn’t covered with snow very often. But I had my metaphoric road-to-Damascus moment some six or seven years ago, the first time I put snow tires on my SUV.
Until then, I’d assumed I was fine with all-season tires. Since I already had all-wheel drive and anti-lock brakes, I figured tires with studs or siping (that’s when they cut thin slits across the surface of a tire to improve traction) were an unnecessary frill. Until, that is, I tried them. (My brother would probably like me to rephrase it this way. “I thought snow tires were unnecessary until I listened to my brother’s good advice and bought a set.” But I decline to admit publicly that my brother was right about anything. Especially when he was.)
Nothing is a substitute for a prudent winter driving technique. But snow tires do give me more control over my vehicle, more traction on icy or snowy roads. I still can’t believe I waited so long to get mine. Based on my experience, I believe the more drivers who had them, the safer Edmonton roads would be.
And so, I understand Edmonton city council’s wish to debate the issue of making snow tires mandatory here. Council’s community and public services committee will be discussing a new report into mandatory snow tires at its meeting on Wednesday.
But I think council may have taken a wrong turn.
As this report makes plain, city council has no legal or political power to impose such a restriction within Edmonton’s city limit. This is a matter of provincial jurisdiction. The municipality has no say in the matter. And right now, the issue is not on the province’s radar. (Not even on its photo radar.)
Snow tires are expensive. It costs anywhere from $800 to $1,500 to buy a good set of four. And it’s not just a one-time cost. If, like me, you lack the mechanical skills or the upper body strength to change them yourself, you have to pay a garage, twice a year, to put them on and take them off again. In some cases, you might need to pay to store them, too.
I’m perfectly happy to nag you, the way my brother nagged me, to get a set. But making it mandatory could be a legitimate hardship for some people.
How do other Canadian jurisdiction manage this question? In Quebec, which gets heavier, wetter snowfalls than we do here, snow tires are mandatory between Dec. 15 and March 15. Those who don’t have them can face fines of up to $300. That rule came into effect 10 years ago.
In the first year, the province estimated that there had been a five per cent net reduction in collision injuries and fatalities, which isn’t a lot.
On the other hand, a 2012 study by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation found a 36 per cent reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured in the winter driving season. When Quebec brought in the law in 2008, only 80 per cent of Quebec drivers used snow tires. The Quebec government now estimates that 99 per cent of people have winter tires on their vehicles.
Other provinces have other strategies. In December 2016, Ontario introduced a program which requires insurers to offer premium discounts of up to five per cent for drivers with vehicles equipped with snow tires. Manitoba, which has public insurance, actually offers low-interest loans, through Manitoba Public Insurance, to help people afford winter tires. When the loan program was introduced in 2014, only about 18 per cent of Manitobans used winter tires. Now, after processing about 100,000 loans, Manitoba Public Insurance estimates almost 51 per cent of drivers in the province have snow tires.
So far, neither Ontario nor Manitoba has data on whether their snow tire policies have reduced accidents.
But whether we opted for carrots or sticks or some combination, it’s still a provincial responsibility. Which isn’t to say the city can’t start a debate. John Archer, press secretary for Transportation Minister Brian Mason, told me Monday that if the city feels strongly that snow tires should be mandatory, it needs to provide equally strong evidence to the province.
So if councillors want to make the case, they’ll have to work a little harder. Personal testimonials, like mine, won’t seal the deal. If we’re going to compel people to pay for tires — or if we are going to compel insurance companies to offer discounts or incentives — we will need more data.
In the meantime? Writing this column has prompted me to book an appointment to have my tires changed to winter tires. I hope my brother is happy.