The season of winter driving is upon us, and by now you should have had your tires (all four of them) changed to snow tires, or winter tires as they are also known. No – not all-season tires, which some (non-expert) people claim are good enough. For winter driving in some places, sure… but this is Canada!It is recommended by many driving experts that you get purpose-built winter tires which have special compounds and tread designs to maintain your vehicle’s grip in snow, ice, slush or wet. A Consumers Report study, by driving engineers, found that winter tires helped front-drive cars reach 20 mph nearly 28 feet sooner than all-season tires did.

Regardless of the evidence, only 31% of Ontarians use snow tires, according to a recent study, falling behind Quebec with 98% (it’s been law there to use winter tires since 2008), 60% in New Brunswick, 56% in Nova Scotia, and 44% in Newfoundland and Labrador. We’re slightly better with the winter tires than Alberta at 31%, PEI at 27%, BC and Saskatchewan at 23% each, and Manitoba at 17%.

Auto insurance claims by Canadians nearly double in winter, and it is worth noting that if you get in a crash where winter tires might have helped prevent, or mitigate, the damage done, the lack of snow tires could be a deciding factor in determining whether or how much you are at-fault, in a court of law.  So not only can winter tires help keep you and your family safe, and it can also prevent further costs to you in the case of an accident.

Do you get snow tires put on your vehicles? Do you think they are essential for winter driving? If not, why not? Leave your us comments below.