One of the primary goals of AutoColumnist.com is to promote increased road safety through tire awareness.
Basic awareness of tire type, purpose, condition, capabilities and limitations translates in a direct way to road safety. And perhaps nowhere does that basic tire awareness contribute to road safety more than when it comes to winter driving.
A look into recent U.S. traffic death statistics reveals just how hazardous winter driving is, and how much widespread use of snow tires could likely help hapless American drivers.
In 2014 there were 32,675 motor vehicle deaths in the U.S. 9,967 of those deaths were alcohol-impaired driving crashes, and therefore largely unrelated to road conditions.
On an annual basis, an average of about 1,900 deaths per year occur in winter weather-related crashes.
Taking the alcohol-impaired driving deaths out of the equation, we end up with 22,708 motor vehicle deaths. So about 8.3% of traffic deaths not involving alcohol occur in winter weather-related crashes.
However, that percentage figure doesn’t nearly tell the full story –
Only part of the country actually experiences true winter road conditions. And within that full winter section of the country, roads are snow, ice, and/or slush covered only some of the time. Not to mention, true winter typically lasts only 1/3 of the year in the northern states.
Consider the 1,900 winter weather-related traffic deaths on a per capita basis, and according to how often roads are actually snow, ice, and/or slush covered, and it becomes clear that driving in adverse winter conditions is seriously hazardous. Next to alcohol-impaired driving crashes, it could be argued that wintry roads kill more commuters on a per capita basis than any other cause.
Given the dire statistics, it’s no wonder that many European countries have actually made snow tires compulsory during winter months. (Learn more: Snow Tire Information & Perspective.)
The U.S. government and population, however, hasn’t caught on. An informal survey of any grocery store or mall parking lot mid-blizzard will show the majority of vehicles fitted with tires ill-equipped, and not designed for the extreme winter conditions.
A fundamental lack of tire awareness is to blame. In general, American drivers think about their tires about as often as they think about their axles, brakes, exhaust system… For most, tires are just another component on the car. They’re considered only when they’re a problem and/or need replacing. Most have not made the very direct connection between their tires, specifically, and their personal safety.
We’re not suggesting that snow tires would eliminate winter-weather related traffic deaths altogether, but we’re confident that widespread use of snow tires would drastically reduce the number per year. Such is the superior control provided by a proper snow tire as compared to typical original equipment tires. (And we know it’s worked in Europe.)
To see how drastic the performance difference can be between a snow tire and a typical all season tire, check out our long-test.
Here’s what happened when an unanticipated snow storm hit Atlanta in 2014. All of these crashes were pretty harmless, but the primary cause of the citywide demolition derby? Tires. Had these vehicles been equipped with snow tires, virtually every one of these accidents would have been entirely avoidable.
As we often say, tires make the performance difference, and that’s especially true during wintertime.
