.... a Canadian tradition since the horse and buggy. My rant to Calgary drivers during these wintry conditions.There’s a reason why it’s called black ice. You can’t see it. But just like a child or a kitten, you’ve been lulled into a belief that if you can’t see it, it can’t affect you. When the road has a glossy finish instead of a matte finish – you know – like a photograph? It means it’s slippery. I’ve got two words..... slow down.
If you drive in a northern geography, I’m beginning to think that winter tires ought to be mandatory. So far most of the vehicles I’ve seen lose control have had plain old all-season tires. Newsflash: Just because you have all-wheel drive doesn’t mean your all-season tires are going to save your sorry butt in an emergency manoeuvre. Maybe the shoulder of freeways and highways need to be designated for vehicles that don’t have the proper tires installed. We can tie a rope to each vehicle and have them led around by a vehicle with winter tires, just like an adult leading young school children down the sidewalk. “Come on little Neon. Stay with the group. Keep your wheels straight. Yaris! I said no spinning of tires please...”
When vehicle manufacturers design each of their offerings, I’m pretty sure they don’t think of the windows as an optional feature. Each and every piece of glass in your vehicle serves as a means of seeing what’s going on around you. In winter though, some people seem to forget that it’s really difficult to see and react to your environment when all of your windows (and side mirrors) are covered in frost, ice, fog, road spray, deer guts or snow drifts. Mind you, the hoodie generation are used to getting around with blinders on. In fact, I’ve seen hoodie wearers with their hoods ‘up’, driving their vehicles like nothing’s wrong. So I’m not really that surprised that every window is completely opaque.
3 comments:
Gotta say you're right. I'm driving a courtesy car at the moment, thanks to an incident earlier this season. (Driving to the parts store to pick up lug nuts for my wife's winter tires, got surprised by a sanding truck at the bend in the road. Those things have zero give. The sanding truck, that is.)
Anyway, my manual transmission courtesy car has all-seasons. You'd think the stick would compensate, but it doesn't. The tires are crap. I'd be better off with my good quality summer tires right now.
Never skimp on engine oil or tires if you can help it. That's my free advice.
Note to Calgary pedestrians: Realise that drivers are operating under winter conditions! I had a lady streak across the oncoming lane to get to the island in the centre of the road - this was not at a crosswalk - and I had to slam on the brakes and skid to a dangerous stop.
I do, however, love my winter tires. It's the first year I've ever had them, and I can't imagine driving with all-seasons again.
I hear ya. For the record, I made the leap to better tires this year as well. I compromised though, I bought Nokian 'all weather' tires, which I guess would be a small step below full fledged winter tires, because they can be used all year, although they have less tread life than all seasons do. I didn't have much choice though - with my new job in Airdrie, I knew I'd need better traction for my daily rural-esque commute.
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