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940News reports that Quebec's transport minister Julie Boulet has tabled a motion in the legislative assembly prohibiting car ads that "promote speed." The motion would give the SAAQ (Quebec's equivalent of a DMV) the power to set guidelines on what kinds of come-ons can be included in car ads aired and printed in Quebec. No mention of any study correlating advertisements to speeding, but I'm sure the Minister has one. Right? Right? Thankfully, scantily clad women washing a car using extra-bubbly car soap remains an option. In other news, QC's transport committee has turfed the lowering of the legal BAL (previously reported on TTAC) from 0.08 to 0.05– but has taken up the cause of mandatory snow tires in the province. Under the new proposal, Quebec's motorists can only use their "all season" rubber from April 16 to November 16. With over one metre of snow having fallen over Northeastern North America in the last month, perhaps this idea has gained some- wait for it- traction.23 Comments on “Oh Canada! No to Speed Ads and Lower BAC, Yes to Snow Tires...”
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The whole snow tire idea would probably be a good idea. I drove on Autoroute 55 a few years ago during the winter, and even though it was a sunny day and hadn’t snowed recently, the roads were barely plowed. Of course, that was when Lucifer was still in power, so I’m not sure if road maintenance has improved since Jean Charest became premier. But even if maintenance has improved in Quebec, snow tires should be law anywhere that gets heavy snow. I know they come in handy here in Maine.
Based on seeing a few car comercials the other night…looks like the only adds you Canucks are gonna see are the red tag sales events.
Snow tires are a good idea, I have them on my Z4 and I’ve been blowing away SUVs with all-seasons on the uphills.
HOWEVER
As an American, I don’t think its the state’s job to tell me what I can and can’t do. If I want to slide my ass around on summer rubber in the snow, get stuck, and kill myself – its my right. And if I want to smash into someone else’s car while doing so, then I should be fully liable in the eyes of the civil law for not acting as a reasonably prudent person (translation, someone you wouldn’t want to have a drink with) under similar circumstances, and whatever criminal law happens to exist as well.
Re Snow Tires are now called Winter Tires, they should be mandatory here in Ontario as well, as last weekend with the heavy Snow in the Toronto GTA area and a lot of accidents too!
I have them on all four wheels on my vehicle, its not just my own vehicle I worry about,its the other driver out there driving on all season tires, these tires are okay for sunny climates, but not for Snow areas of any Country.
Snow tires are good, but they cost too damn much. I priced a set with steel rims for my 01 Impala, and it would cost around $700 for the cheapest winter tires available. I can’t afford $700, so if the government makes snow tires mandatory, they’d better f**king pay some of the cost.
cretinx :
None of the courts can bring back a fatality.
Well, it’s a semi-free country.
Do they exempt AWD cars from this? I run snows on my front drivers, but my AWD car def does not need snows.
They have been throwing the idea around in Ontario for a few years as well. I personally cannot drive without Winter Tires during the Winter season in Ontario anymore, it is too much of a drastic difference in safety with them on. It also makes the other set of tires last longer, sometimes drastically longer, you aren’t burning down the tread on your “all season” tires spinning them in the snow trying to get around. I don’t know anyone that has put winter tires on their car for a season, and never bought another set when they have worn out. It is just so hard to go back to all season tires once you have driven regularly in snow on winter treads.
As a winter tire evangelist, I’d love to see them made mandatory, at least in certain areas (e.g., in central Ontario, north of Hwy 89).
What surprises me is that the insurance companies don’t make it ‘mandatory’ by stealth. They ought to jump on anything that provides such a safety improvement—both wintertime fender-benders and serious collisions ought to be reduced—and give better rates on well-shod cars.
If any Canadian jurisdiction were to lead the way, I’d think Nova Scotia should give it a hard look—safety aside, Michelin must be the biggest private-sector employer in the province. Oh, wait, the good MPPs there are too busy outlawing smoking and chatting on the cell phone to do something that would have a substantive safety impact.
I remember a news report from Quebec last year, on how you can’t find rental cars equipped with winter tires.
Add to the mix drivers from down south with little winter driving experience, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
As a Quebecer, I’ve always installed winter tires on my car. It’s a must.
If you can’t afford 4 winter tires, then you can’t afford to own your car and should consider driving something cheaper or you should use public transportation.
My advice: If your car is equipped with factory wheels(mags), install your winter tires on your factory wheels. No need to waste money on steel rims. Bonus: Your car will look great all year round.
Southern Ontario winter roads are snow-free most of the time. Snow tires have considerably reduced wet and bare pavement stability. In most instances one is at greater risk with snow tires than with high quality all-season tires.
Most local snowfalls are quickly plowed away. If driving is unduly hazardous I delay my departure, or pull into a restaurant, and continue when it is safer. Regardless, nothing will save me from a nut-bar running bald tires.
@Gardiner Westbound
I’m out west of you (Kitchener), and while you might be able to survive /w all seasons in Toronto, I wouldn’t want to drive without winters on during the snow. Granted, I’m driving 100kms of the 401 if I head into Toronto, but having switched recently from All Seasons to a combination of summer performance & winters, I’ll never go back.
For those that think AWD doesn’t require winter tires, I can’t agree. We currently own FWD/AWD/RWD vehicles, and the AWD is no better at stopping then either of the others in the snow. My RWD is much easier to drive in the snow with snow tires then my wife’s AWD vehicle /w all seasons – yet throw winter tires on her vehicle, and it’s a completely different story!
For the gentleman /w the Impala – shop around. My winter tires where only $450 installed for a BMW Coupe (in Canada where the dealerships regularly charge 3k+ for tires/rims) – just a matter of shopping around. Granted I spent an extra 600 getting some nicer allow rims, so my “real” cost was over 1k, but this wasn’t a requirement; I could have installed the tires on my existing rims (except possibly for a staggered rim issue)…
Brendon
# jazbo123 :
Do they exempt AWD cars from this? I run snows on my front drivers, but my AWD car def does not need snows.
As Brendon pointed out above, AWD does nothing to help you stop, so you should try them out. I have snows on my Volvo, and I can go anywhere with it and stop on ice.
SAAQ is also part of the insurance for Quebec motorists, in Quebec when you buy plates for a vehicle you are also paying for insurance.
Samir, you should tell us what plates for a vehicle that is 100K cost on a yearly basis.
Modern cars with all the electronic safety features are somewhat defeated without winter tires. What is the use of having ABS, traction control, electronic stability, and then not have the appropriate tires for the conditions.
Quebec is the province with the highest usage of winter tires, I believe its over 70%, making them mandatory is very easy, the SAAQ is also the insurer, not winter tires….guess what???
Ontario is a different story, some folks are in denial towards snow, and subsequently towards using winter tires.
I live in Calgary, Alberta, and if you want to see ditched cars take the #2 highway north to Edmonton or the #1 west to Banff during or after snowfall. It is pretty windy here most of the time (Alberta Clipper, anyone?) and the result of that snow blowing across the road and being driven on is ice. I don’t stop to check, but I would lay money that the vast majority of those stranded vehicles are running all-season radials and not snow tires (and the greater number always seem to be SUV’s and 4X4’s. Over-confidence?). I would be in favour of any legislation that makes snow tires mandatory in our province – Jesse Ventura may think you can’t legislate against stupidity, but I think you can lessen it’s impact.
As for not being able to afford “Winter Tires” you should maybe consider being hurt or killed in an accident has problems as well, may I suggest if you live close enough to the United States Border, then go an purchase your Winter wheels there including Steel rims, from what I have read and heard on various Auto programs there are real deals to be had in the USA! as our Dollar is at par or better and who is going to check your Wheels at the Border in any case!
Has anyone tried out those new “all-weather” tires? I believe one brand is the Nokian WR.
AGR: Nice to see you again. Each plate on a class 5 vehicle (regardless of cost) is $255/yr.
Gardiner Westbound :
December 19th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Southern Ontario winter roads are snow-free most of the time. Snow tires have considerably reduced wet and bare pavement stability. In most instances one is at greater risk with snow tires than with high quality all-season tires.
Where exactly did you get that information? The soft winter compound tends to wear quickly, but they provide good traction on wet and dry pavement despite the slightly mushier feel; soft rubber tends to do that. Car and Driver recently compared summer, winter, and all-season Goodyear tires in snowy, wet, and dry conditions:
“The most interesting result was that the snow tire performed better on wet asphalt than did the all-season tire. The snow tire stopped sooner — 150 feet versus 155 — and pulled more g — 0.71 versus 0.69. And its 56.60-second run through the wet autocross course was 0.11 second quicker.”
The all-season did beat the winter tire on the track when dry, but not by enough to say that driver safety would be jeopardized in any way by using them in summer. Plus, they were up against the V-rated Goodyear RS-A which pulled .87g on the dry skidpad test of my Mazda3. Since performance was so close to that of the RS-As on both dry and wet pavement, they likely performed far better than cheap all-season tires that are good for 0.7g on dry pavement. The winter tire did get chewed up pretty good at the track though.
I, and pretty much all my friends and family, use winter tires here in Saskatchewan, but I don’t think they should make them mandatory. A person driving cautiously on all-season tires is safer than someone driving at the limits of their winter tires, and some all-seasons actually provide decent winter traction. This law would even prevent someone from being able to take their sports car out for a drive on a warm, dry, sunny day in early April.
jazbo123 :
December 19th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Do they exempt AWD cars from this? I run snows on my front drivers, but my AWD car def does not need snows.
Of course it doesn’t! Well, unless you wanted to be able to stop and turn as well as a car with snow tires.
Making winter tires mandatory is a good idea. But if I want to go south (e.g. Florida) this winter from Montreal, I have the choice of breaking the law or ruins my winter tires. Not very practical, isn’t it?
The River 17:
You can buy nokian hakkapeliitta tires. They are rated by Transport Canada as a winter tire, but can be used year-round.
My favorite part of Quebec automotive law is the no fault insurance. That is, if you do slide your car into someone else’s, you’re not liable for dammage to their property, only your own. So, it almost makes sense that they then feel they need to legislate snow tires…