Stupid snow/city.

[Rubi03 jef]

Was it the bus stuck half on the road and half iff by Crowchild at 54th?

On a different topic, it is not only -17* and the roads are bare, there is zero need for people to be driving 25kph on Crowchild with their 4 ways on. If this is you, STAY HOME!

agreeed .. if you cant keep up and dont feel safe on the roads then get off them  cuz guess what you people doing 25km are the problem

[w squared]

There's a time an place for driving like that...like when there is twelve inches of snow on the road, or they're glare ice.

If you don't have the skills and experience to drive safely in moderate conditions, call a taxi - because you're a hazard to everyone else on the road.

[4Banger_madness]

well i dont know about them taxi drivers either

[XJay]

I live near Westhills and every year on the first or second snow a minivan or family hauler will end up high centered on the median going into McDonalds on the south end of the mall.  This happens every year and is a tricky one to get the vehicle down and they still haven't done anything to prevent the poor drivers to stop doing this to themselves. 

I'm impressed so many of you go and help get people pulled out of the snow.  Truly admirable.

[Sean778]

Conditions were similarly poor here in Edmonton last week.  I dragged a cube van out of a snowbank he'd slid into while attempting to pass an already mired city bus.  After the thanks/handshake portion, I circled the block to offer my services to the bus, but the driver refused, and then proceeded to engage in an activity that I can only describe as a cross between dancing and tai chi.  I guess he was thoroughly enjoying his paid break.  The same day provided plenty of happy surprises including a middle aged woman attempting to turn left, from a parking lot, across my path.  Had conditions been ideal, the manoeuvre would have been ill-advised, and her timing was jaw-droppingly poor.  Luckily, standing on the brakes (ABS) and swerving in the opposite direction averted disaster.  Clearly flustered, this adept wheel-woman decided to start forward, change her mind, and reverse quickly, without so much as a glance in her rear-view mirror.  I could only shake my head as I drove past.  Edmontonian drivers have me convinced that there is a town meeting held just prior to a snowfall, and the consensus reached is that everyone should abandon all reason, logic, and plain ol' common sense in favour of raw stupidity.  With warm weather just around the corner, and a foot of snow on the ground, I can hardly wait to see the good fortune in store for the City of Champions.

[w squared]

  Edmontonian drivers have me convinced that there is a town meeting held just prior to a snowfall, and the consensus reached is that everyone should abandon all reason, logic, and plain ol' common sense in favour of raw stupidity. 

Common sense is nothing more than the preconceptions and biases that you form before you reach the age of 18. Given how foolish most 18 year olds are these days, common sense doesn't amount to much.

Sometimes I think that they have it right in Quebec - appropriate tires are manadatory for the winter months.

[Spinalguy]

i hope we never go to mandatory snow tires. The West is a different beast. We have 'clear' roads but at -20, they are really ice layered. No snow tire except studded will help with those conditions. The EAST is WET deep snow.
i own 3 vehicles that would need snow tires. That is a LOT of money The tires we run do very well. At the end of the day it comes down to driver experience. i think just like the graduated licensing, these same folks should be made to run snow tires. My AT's do very well and i change my driving habits to account for conditions.
Maybe the City should not build new walkways over water and instead do a much better job at snow removal.
i will vehemently oppose any winter tire rule.

[cLAY]

I had to laugh at my  co-workers the other day(and Calgarians in General). Last year when the city wanted to raise taxes everyone got all upset.  I compared my tax rate for my $320,000 house in Cochrane to my boss's $500,000+ in Calgary and found I was paying about $500 more per year.

Fast Forward to that last big storm a few Fridays ago, I drove around in Calgary all day that day(have an AWD minivan and studded tires) and thought what a mess, when I got home into Cochrane all the roads were plowed(including my side street) and were done again the next day. For the next 5 days when I went to work in the morning there was a fresh layer of gravel on all the intersections.

Now yesterday I hear that Calgarians would support a tax hike if it meant better snow clearing......

I also am not in favor of mandatory snow tires by law. I've got studded tires on the mini-van but I drive that van everyday to the airport from Cochrane and as I fix snowplows for a living I'm expected to be there no matter the weather. However I have good quality AT tires on the dually that work quite well and to have swap them out for winter tires would cost me $1500+.

There should be some provison though to charge people running around on bald,summer,sports or otherwise inadequate tires, they just plug up the roads for the rest of us.

[w squared]

i hope we never go to mandatory snow tires. The West is a different beast. We have 'clear' roads but at -20, they are really ice layered. No snow tire except studded will help with those conditions. The EAST is WET deep snow.
i own 3 vehicles that would need snow tires. That is a LOT of money The tires we run do very well. At the end of the day it comes down to driver experience. i think just like the graduated licensing, these same folks should be made to run snow tires. My AT's do very well and i change my driving habits to account for conditions.
Maybe the City should not build new walkways over water and instead do a much better job at snow removal.
i will vehemently oppose any winter tire rule.

Speaking from personal experience (I've put lots of winter miles on Michelin Alpins, BFG AT's, Toyo M-55's, Toyo Open Country AT's, and siped BFG MT's), an AT will not do as well on ice as a good winter tire would. It can't. It doesn't have the soft compound, and it doesn't have the sipes. A studded winter tire is ideal...but a non-studded winter tire is better for most people.

Also, a well thought-out winter tire law would simply mandate that tires run during the winter would have the "severe snow" rating. Most AT's have that rating - reflecting the fact that while they will never keep up with a real winter tire on ice, they are far better than an all-season street tire or even most M/T's during the winter. You could keep your AT's year-round...but the minivans and Hondas running around on half-bald all-season tires would have to spend a few dollars making themselves less of a hazard to everyone else on the road.

And yes...I would have to buy new tires. 

[Zombie]

from what I hear, there is going to be a vote sometime in febuary reguarding this.
I see the validity of this as it will make the roads safer, but it will put a strain on the people that are just getting by as it is.
I myself love winter tires, I have pruchased 4 vehicles and all of them had winters, including my jeep now(back end is so light I needed the grip)
I had put 2 sets on one of the cars(92 tempo, great car for winter because it was heavy), I have also bought my sister and brother-in-law winter tires because they are much better in winter.
with the 7 sets of winters that I have purchased I have spent going 5000 bucks on winters(including wheels, I find really good deals), and I do not regret spending the money if it will keep my family safer.
other drivers are now the issue, so I would not mind if everyone had winters, it would sure cut down on the insurance claims, and high rates.

I will be interested to see where this takes us, and will let you know if I hear anything more about it.

cheers
steve

[WhiteOut]

The biggest problem is not people who don't have winter tires but those a) driving on bald all seasons or summers and b) people who just cant drive (including people in a lot of 4x4s and SUVs). Why not mandate that you can't run summers in winter and can't run a tire with less than 25% life remaining. All a winter tire law will do in embolden the fools who are somehow still on the road, somehow every time it snows or ices up I pass tons of people who are stuck on level ground or a slight hill just spinning their tires at redline? Having winter tires will not make everyone a better driver overnight and it will not make the roads safer. the train of thought will be "I have winter tires, now I have sick traction I can drive exactly how I do in the summer".

If you are curious here is what it will cost you. Assuming a 32" winter tire, which is the largest I could find without going to a 17 or 18" rim size.

If you buy new rims with the winter tires, expect to pay $1870.00, assuming the place you buy from will mount and balance for free and you can get a rim for $100. If you don't get rims the cost goes down to $1710.00 initially but you pay $300.00 every year to have the tires swapped and rebalanced. Then you have to store the tires.

[Zombie]

where do you pay 150 bucks a shot to have tires mounted. that is steep

[WhiteOut]

where do you pay 150 bucks a shot to have tires mounted. that is steep

Kal-Tire and Fountain Tire both charge $35/wheel to remove, remount and balance a tire. So you have 5 tires that need swapping, that's $175 right there. Then you pay for them to put them back on the vehicle, plus shop supplies and charges for valve cores.

No tire place is dumb enough to give me free for life remove/mount/balance on a set of tires I will only run 4 months a year.

[Spinalguy]

snip...

  As I 'splained to Michie, I drive in 2 wheel drive as much as I can, because then if I find myself in a situation, I have something to draw on (4x4, and if necessary lockers) to get out of the situation.  If you get into it with all the goodies already working for you, there's nothing left but raw knowledge and skill to get you out.

And this is where the problem lies. You have 4wd and don't use it. How is that plan going to work for you when you are cruising Calgary streets in minus 20 or colder and you start to lose control on curves in the road, bridges, etc. The answer is you WON"T. Its too late.
Maybe i am a wuss but my Dodge was in 4wd every day/night when temps were -20 or colder. The difference in the ABILITY to CONTROL the vehicle is night and day vs 2wd.
My pet peeve is the 4x4 crowd that won't use it. You have it, use it!!!!

[dunl]

I use 4wd unless it is dry and bare.  Driving to work in Rocky from Sylvan each day makes it a necessity.