Seriously folks, I’m not suggesting this as a sarcastic modest proposal. (Like my modest proposal to bring back capital punishment for the worst automotive crime known to humankind, namely driving slow in the left lane.)
Here in NB, as I’m sure happens in every other province (and the debate may still rage in Quebec though they’ve made the smart move to mandatory winter tires) the topic of mandatory winter tires comes up every year. Every year it comes up a debate rages in online comment sections in local papers, radio stations and the Communist Broadcasting Collective. (Apologies for letting my biases show…) The comments are firmly split into two camps and there appears to be a wide chasm between the two. I am firmly, solidly and irrevocably in the pro-winter tire camp. The anti-winter tire camp, at least here in NB, tends to split 25/75 along two distinct arguments.
1) The 25% of the opposition are opposed because it becomes a tax on the poor. (Keep in mind that NB is arguably the most socialist of all the provinces in Canada. I’m not being flippant, it’s just a fact. If you don’t believe me we can have an argument off-line.) The argument has some merit in a province where the majority of the population is still rural with no other means of transportation available. I admit that I’m not in the lower economic strata so I have no real perspective here, though I was once in that strata when I was working two jobs to save for school and then putting myself through school. But then, as now, when I select a car I look at the total ownership costs and that includes winter tires. I guarantee to you that before I ordered my MKZ I looked at winter tire options. This was in August. It would have been a deal-breaker if winter tires were prohibitively expensive. There are many reasons why I won’t own a truck as a daily driver and one of those is the cost of winter tires. A friend had a boss with a GM truck on 21” or 22” rims and winter tires set him back $4K.
2) The remaining 75% of the anti-winter tire crowd can be grouped into “I don’t need them because I don’t go far in the winter.” This is, admittedly, a compelling argument. Personally, I only wear proper winter footwear when I’m out snowblowing the driveway. Other than that I wear the same shoes that I’ll wear in August. I make out just fine so that argument should carry through to tires, right? But I think there are some major differences. I can exercise care and I can assume the risks (recognizing that a serious fall with injuries will be a cost to the medical system). But if I head out on the roads without proper tires for conditions I’m not just a danger to myself but to everyone else on the road. If I need to stop quickly in my car in slick conditions I am confident in my tires’ ability to do so BUT I have no idea if the person behind me has bald all-seasons and will plow into the back of me.
For me, the argument is simple – does it get below 7 degrees Celsius where you live? If yes, then you need winter tires. I don’t give a flying f@#k if all you do is drive to work. It’s science, not magic.
Anyway… to my modest proposal.
What if winter tires were mandatory for driving on roads where the posted limit was above 80km/h? If you want to trust your bald all-season tires you’re allowed to do so but you are limited to roads with posted speeds below 80km/h. Sure, there would be enforcement issues, I get that. But I think that if my idea were adopted it would at least mitigate the risks of damage and injury. More accidents caused by low traction would be relegated to lower-speed roads.
Any thoughts? And yes, I am being serious here…