Winter tires. Real winter tires, that is.
Yes, real winter tires are very important for anyone living in truly wintry places. A December 2015 Car & Driver article titled Cold War by K.C. Colwell, mentions the following: "Only 25 percent of snowbelt drivers fit their vehicles with winter tires, while Quebec and many European countries make them compulsory." This means that most drivers are using the renown "All Season" tires. Note the quotation marks surrounding All Season. When people think of all of the seasons of the year, they typically think spring, summer, fall, winter, even if they live in the snowbelt of the U.S. So a reasonable person figures that an All Season tire is fine on a vehicle regardless of where the driving might take place. Unfortunately this is a misconception according to the professionals. Taking another glance at Cold War, "You may think you don't need winter tires because your car has all-seasons. But, ironically, if you live somewhere that actually has all the seasons, you need winter tires."
In an area that gets snow regularly each year, that stays below 40 degrees Fahrenheit (~7 degrees Celsius) for a number of months at a time, which therefore can contain and be surrounded by icy roadways (such as Williston, ND), during the wintertime one's tires should have the above symbol somewhere on them.
Some examples of tires with that symbol are the ones that Cold War discusses:
- Yokohama iceGUARD iG52c
- Dunlop Winter Maxx
- Bridgestone Blizzak WS80
- Continental WinterContact Si
- Michelin X-Ice Xi3
- Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2
Drivers in the snowbelt who travel outside of the town that they inhabit during the wintertime are especially suited for getting winter tires. Winter tire enthusiasts see the extra burden of dealing with two sets of wheels--a cold-weather set, and a warm-weather set--as extra insurance that helps keep us safe and off of the light poles.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of having winter tires
Having winter tires ideally means having a total of eight (yes, 8) tires and wheels for those who have cars with only four wheels. Of course this sounds expensive. Up front, it can be. But this is where budgeting comes into play. It's also where we must take into account the time and money one saves by not crashing.
To be general about this, let's say that a set of rims costs $800 a piece. A set of tires costs about the same. So two sets of wheels and tires costs $800 x 4=$3200. Well, we can deduct $800 from this if we have a set of wheels already. Maybe we have decent All Season tires, too, which we'll use as our warm-weather tires. So in the end, we're only spending roughly $1600 on everything, and quite possibly less (for instance, the Continental WinterContact Si's are approximately $130, or $546 (after sales tax) for a set, plus perhaps another $60 for the installation itself; so $650 for the tires and installation on whatever rims a driver already has).
In examining the average annual snowfall in North Carolina, and the average annual snowfall in North Dakota, we can see that western North Carolina and all of North Dakota are places where snow tires are going to come in handy. In central and eastern North Carolina, though, not so much. Certainly whether one needs winter tires depends on his or her geographical location. And though generally snow tires maximize the safety of travelers in the upper half of North America, i.e. anywhere at or above the 45th parallel north, this is not to say that one should pass up snow tires in places like western North Carolina. As we can see in the map below, snowfall occurs in geographical areas well below the northernmost U.S. states.
No need because of AWD or 4x4? Not quite.
If we take a look at statistics regarding vehicle accidents in winter conditions, we'll see that many of the vehicles involved were All-Wheel Drive (AWD) or 4x4. This is because AWD's and 4x4's only tend to be marginally better than Rear- or Front-Wheel Drive vehicles at stopping or turning on icy or snowy roads. Take a look at the following video to become more convinced that getting winter tires in a wintry place is a great idea. Consumer Reports Winter Tires Video
We must mention the fact that winter tires are also not a license to travel at posted highway speeds when patches of snow and ice are covering the highway. Even with winter tires, drivers must consider slippage and momentum. When a vehicle is traveling at 60 mph, for instance, in the event that it slides off the road, it is going to slide off the road faster and with considerably more force than if the vehicle had been going 45 mph. So even with snow tires, drivers must be careful--part of the joy of snow tires, though, is that when drivers that are using All-Season tires are driving carefully, they are not nearly as capable on any given road as the good drivers who have winter tires. See the video below for more proof that winter tires are the answer in true winter conditions.
We must mention the fact that winter tires are also not a license to travel at posted highway speeds when patches of snow and ice are covering the highway. Even with winter tires, drivers must consider slippage and momentum. When a vehicle is traveling at 60 mph, for instance, in the event that it slides off the road, it is going to slide off the road faster and with considerably more force than if the vehicle had been going 45 mph. So even with snow tires, drivers must be careful--part of the joy of snow tires, though, is that when drivers that are using All-Season tires are driving carefully, they are not nearly as capable on any given road as the good drivers who have winter tires. See the video below for more proof that winter tires are the answer in true winter conditions.
