Tourist decides to take business elsewhere
WHISTLER SKI TRIP: Lack of snow-tire guarantee on rental vehicles from airport angers Toronto woman
Catherine Erdle has cancelled her Whistler ski trip and is going to Quebec instead after finding out she can’t get a rental vehicle with snow tires at the Vancouver airport.
Erdle, 59, of Toronto knows the road to Whistler can get treacherous and doesn’t want to drive it without proper winter tires. So she and four family members will go to Quebec, where it’s been mandatory to have winter tires on vehicles from mid-December to mid-March since 2007.
After a frustrating attempt to find a car-rental firm that could provide a vehicle with winter tires that have a snowflake on the side wall, Erdle sent a letter to the province’s Destination B.C. tourism office complaining that it isn’t safe to drive through the Sea-to-Sky corridor without proper rubber during winter.
“Now it appears we have to go elsewhere,” she wrote. “Because no carrental companies at Vancouver airport can guarantee us a car with snow tires. Why aren’t car-rental companies forced to equip cars with snow tires? Should the government turn a blind eye to those travelling to Whistler, possibly risking their lives and the lives of others? Doesn’t make sense to me, so it looks like we’re going to Quebec, and spending our vacation dollars there, instead of Whistler.”
Reached at her home, Erdle said she has been on the road to Whistler when it was covered with snow and feels it’s unsafe without proper winter tires. She feels the rental companies tell customers the road is fine on all-season tires. “Tourists are being misled,” she said “I just don’t get it. Things won’t change until someone is killed.”
Whistler Coun. Jack Crompton, who also runs the shuttle bus from Whistler into downtown Vancouver and the airport, said he believes some car-rental companies do offer snow tires. Crompton advises people who don’t want to drive in winter conditions to take the shuttle or bus. Calls to various car-rental companies indicate some have a limited supply of cars with winter tires, but are sold out. Avis in Whistler could provide a vehicle with snow tires for an additional $15 a day, but had a limited supply. Budget has vehicles with winter tires and, if a vehicle is available, it’s an extra $20 a day for the tires.
Despite all-season tires being allowed on the road to Whistler during the winter, one tire expert said they’re no match for true winter tires. “A snow tire will stop way faster in the winter time and it sticks to the road way better than an all-season tire,” said Grant Price, owneroperator of OK Tire & Auto Service in Squamish. “You do sacrifice traction with (an all-season) tire.”
In December, two accidents on separate snowy days along the highway into Whistler sent numerous people to hospital with life-threatening injuries and shut down the only road to Whistler for hours during blizzard conditions.
An RCMP E-Division traffic-unit spokesman said officers conduct regular tire checks along the Sea-to-Sky Highway and will turn drivers around if they’re not in compliance. A snowflake or the mud and snow sign is needed. Trucks are also checked.
Belinda Ewald-Middleton of Destination B.C. wrote to Erdle: “The three-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol on the side of the tire offers the best traction on snow and ice. The M+S (mud and snow) symbol offer better traction than summer tires, however they are less effective than three-peaked mountain and snowflake tires. Both types of tires are permitted on Highway 99.
“I spoke to a representative of Avis YVR (and was) advised that SUVs with snow tires are often booked well in advance, leaving very few available during the Whistler season. However, he did confirm that all rentals are equipped with the M+S tires, which are acceptable.”