dbd33

I know the value of Canada is that nothing ever happens; safety, routine, ritual. But, ffs, that's the same article they print every year.

dbd33

It's renewal time, I await the coming bill with interest. Will this be a year in which the insurance premium was less than the value of the car?

Almost Canadian

I don't recall stating that your choice wasn't valid. You can do what you wish to.

I love the irony of being accused of being patronising by you.

Greenhill

I normally try to get mine fitted before the end of October.

And yes, they can make an incredible difference when braking, steering or driving through slippery stuff (I have videos to prove it)!

One good example was one stormy day last year. The snow on the road up the hill was quite deep and of a very slippery nature. I was following a largish four wheel drive truck up the hill (well, actually, I waited at the bottom of the steep bit in case he lost control and slipped backwards). He got completely stuck in the snow just before the top of the hill (and had to be towed out of there later in the day). As soon as I realised he wasn't going anywhere, I took my turn and was able to get all the way up and around him without shitting my pants

Of course, the best thing to do in these conditions is stay home but, in the case you absolutely have to go out, for the best protection, wear the proper rubber for the conditions.

Other snow/ice driving tips:
Get all the braking done before beginning to turn a corner
Accelerating, braking and steering: never do two of these simultaneously
Try to practise some winter driving in a safe location; try to learn how to recover from a slide and get a feel if you can stop more quickly by activating or not activating the ABS in different conditions

Secam

Having survived 35 Canadian winters, most with a 1 hour commute each way, this is the best piece of winter driving advice I have ever read.

I'd also add to this with "brake early and brake lightly".

iaink

How would one brake and accelerate simultaneously one wonders, even if one wanted too...

conjonway

Saw this graphic before somewhere else - but here it is on this forum:

http://www.snowtire.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=271



That's the general rule that I use - change my tyres when the temp is consistently below 5-7

Almost Canadian

"left foot braking"

iaink

Is that the air temperature, the road temperature or the rubber temperature.?

Im pretty sceptical of the benefits at 7C, I can see the tyre company benefits though as you will scrub a lot of rubber of your winters and youll need to replace them that much sooner at that temperature.

Just the friction of the rubber rolling along the road is enough to significantly heat a tire up too, so static lab tests of friction at various temperatures I feel are misleading.

Greenhill

I guess that permutation refers to use of the handbrake? Or both feet out panic situation?

conjonway

I'm just a sucker for pretty pictures. They have a graph - it must be legit.

iaink

But accelerating means the vehicle is increasing in speed and braking means its decreasing speed, so it cant physically do both at the same time!

Anyway, its sound advice to avoid changing both speed and direction at the same time if you can avoid it, theres only so much friction to go around.

Best winter driving tip I know is that its better to slow down in bad conditions and be late than to proceed as usual and be the late...

Greenhill

Likewise. I remember the first year I had that AWD Vibe, I ran it through winter on the stock all season tyres and I remember being able to brake and slow more quickly on freezing cold dry roads than I could in subsequent years with the winter tyres fitted (again, on freezing cold dry roads).

I'm sure the softer rubber does help to some extent but my guess was that there's less rubber in contact with the road with the winter tyres, given the bigger gaps in the tread.

MarkG

Unfortunately, then the truck that's tailgating because you're not going ten over the speed limit crashes into the back of you when you stop.

dbd33

I bloody hope 10 over the speed limit does represent having slowed down for a blizzard. Some of us haven't got all day you know.